Perfection Is Not Easy
by JayMagnus
Summary: A Different Ranma Saotome arrives at the Tendo Dojo and with him comes a mysterious past.
1. Arrival

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  I had nothing to do with it.  Please do not sue me; I have little or no money. 

**Chapter 1**

**Arrival**

Bringing Ranma from China 

                                                - Saotome

"Oh how I've waited for this day," Soun Tendo said as he clutched the postcard from his old friend, tears of joy flowing from his eyes.  "The School will be secure!"  He quickly stood up and ran off to call his daughters.

Meanwhile, in the pouring rain, a certain pony tailed figure slowly walked along side a larger figure covered in a black cloak thus making it impossible to tell what was through it, though one could see its feet which in reality weren't feet at all but fairly sharp looking talons.  The two didn't seem to care what people thought of them.

"Damn it Pop," the figure yelled.  "How could you pick out a fiancée for me without asking?"

"[It was you mother's idea]" the panda wrote on a wooden sign.  

"You expect me to believe that?"  The figured demanded.

"[Okay, maybe it was my idea]" the sign said.  The mysterious figure turned it over to reveal more writing.  "[But it's still a matter of family honor]"

"Whatever," the figure muttered.  "At least let me meet this chick."

"[I'm sure you two will fall in love]," the next sign said.

"Just like you were sure about the Neko-ken, right?" the figure stated.

"[He learned it, didn't he]?" the next sign said.

"You have a lunatic's logic, pop," was the response. 

The rain soon stopped, giving the smaller figure to find some hot water.  None for Genma of course.  He deserved to be stuck in his cursed form for a while longer.

"Fiancé?"

"That's right," Soun assured his daughters.  "To the son of a very good friend of mine."

The Tendo sisters all remained silent for several minutes; however their various expressions did the talking for them.  Kasumi's face was filled with annoyance.  She was obviously disappointed that her father would make a decision this large without them, though it didn't surprise her one bit.  Her younger sister Nabiki expressed curiosity.  She was the only one who seemed to look forward to this at all.  Perhaps she wanted a little love in her life, or perhaps she hoped that the boy in question had a large bank account.  Akane, however, was furious beyond belief.

The youngest daughter in question angrily stood up.  "How could you, dad?!?  Picking a fiancé without even asking us first?!"  

"Calm down, sis," Nabiki requested.  "He may be real cute.  Right, daddy?"

"How old is he father?"  Kasumi asked.  "Younger men bore me."

"Now that you mention it, I have no idea," Soun realized.  "I've only met him once while he and his family were passing through Tokyo during his training mission.  Though I thought he was very cute for ten-year old boy."

His daughters remained silent for they did not know how to react to their father's confession that he thought that a ten-year-old boy was cute.  Luckily the awkward silence was broken by the sound of the doorbell.

Soun leapt happily toward door.   "That must be him."  Upon opening it, he came face to face with a pony tailed boy, wearing a long sleeve red Chinese shirt and black pants.  His blues eyes and handsome smile would have any female melting in the palm of his hands.  He was followed by the hulking cloaked figure.

"You wouldn't be...?"

"Ranma Saotome," the boy greeted.  "Heir of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."  He gave a bow.  Soun respond with a large hug that nearly killed the boy.

"I'm so happy to see you," Soun cried as he blocked Ranma's air passage.

"Can't.....breathe...." Ranma tried to say.

"I've waited so long for your arrival," Soun added, not hearing, or maybe even not caring to hear, Ranma's pleas.

At this point the young martial artist had begun to turn blue.  "World…going…black…"

Kasumi put a hand on her father's shoulder.  "I think you're killing him, father." 

"Oops," Soun yelped as he dropped the boy.

"[Hello old friend]" the near giant wrote on a sign.

"Ah, Saotome my friend," He examined Genma more closely.  "You've been working out a bit over the years it seems."

The cloaked visitor responded by removing his hood, revealing a vicious looking falcon head, complete with evil looking bloodshot eyes.

"Holy shit!" Nabiki screamed totally dropping her Ice Queen exterior.  It was understandable.  It was a monster after all.

"He's so cute," Kasumi commented.

"What the hell is that thing!?"  Akane demanded at Ranma.

"Don't mind him, he's just some pet I got while I was training in China," Ranma assured them.

"[I resent that!]," stated a sign the birdman was suddenly holding

"That's a well trained pet," Nabiki commented, once again in her cool demeanor.

The moment of fear passed once the newly arrived Ranma assured them there was no danger.  Soun once again hugged the boy and expressed his happiness at Ranma's arrival.  The pony tailed youth seemed a bit annoyed with the Soun's "advances" but still acted as polite as he could.  Kasumi silently fumed over discovering Ranma was a bit younger then her.  She would of course fulfill family honor if it come down to it, but hopefully one of her sisters would step up to the plate and agree to marry the boy.  Nabiki had noted that in fact he was very cute, however she wasn't about to marry a guy based something as shallow as looks.  It all depended on his the size of his wallet.  

Akane was just plain pissed.

"So Ranma, when will your father be joining us?"  Soun asked.  Before Ranma had a chance to respond, the elder Tendo added, "Oh that's right.  Your mother also traveled with you, did she not?  Will she be joining us as well?"

Ranma's face darkened.  He slightly lowered his head.  "No, she won't," he said simply.  Soun nodded.  He wasn't sure what the boy had meant by that but he did note the bitter and slightly sad tone of his voice.

Akane was still upset about this whole situation, however if there was one thing that helped vent her anger it was practicing in the dojo.  And since this Ranma person was suppose to be a fighter perhaps she could show him why they call her the best martial artiest in Nerima.  

"Hey, wanna spar?" Akane asked the boy.  He stared at her with a confused look.  Annoyed at this boy's obvious stupidity Akane added "You study karate, right?  Let's go into the dojo and have a little match."

Ranma still looked confused, but nodded and followed her toward the dojo.

Once they were out of the room the "Well Trained Pet" turned to Kasumi.

"[Hot water please.]"

The two teens soon found themselves opposite sides of the Tendo dojo about five-minutes later.

"I should warn you," Akane stated, "I'm considered the best martial artist in Nerima, but don't worry.  I'll go easy on you."  Sure it was easy to say that, but trying to hold back on a boy was hard.  It just felt so good to beat on those immature idiots.  She simply silently promised not to kill him.   Maybe.

Ranma quickly identified that the stance Akane was taking was of the Anything Goes Style; however it was a bit different from his own school.  Not surprising.  When his father told him this family practiced their style he had assumed it would be slightly diverse.  Probably inferior as well.

"Are you ready?"  Akane asked.

"Yeah, attack me from any angle," Ranma replied smiling.

"Cocky bastard," Akane thought to herself.  "He's not even taking a stance.  Oh well, I'll teach him not to take me seriously."

The Tendo girl dashed at the pig tail boy with her fist however she noticed that he had hit only air.  Turning around quickly she saw the boy behind her, standing smugly.  How could that be?  No one's that fast.

Once again she charged at the boy, this time concentrating on his position.  She attempted a kick to his head, however she misses.  Ranma in fact had only slightly tilted his head to the left to avoid it.  If he had been an inch more to the right she would have connected.  She repeatedly tried to land a blow, but the pony-tailed boy effortlessly avoided every time.

"Damn, is he reading my moves?" Akane wondered.

Ranma smiled slightly "She's got a lot stamina," he thought to himself. 

"This time for real!"  Akane yelled as she charged the pony tailed martial artiest.  Direct hit!  She punched right through his head.  Wait a minute, right through his head?  Akane nearly tripped when she saw the Ranma she punched began to blur, and then fade away.  Was it an illusion?  Before she could react she found herself being thrown from behind landing and denting a wall of the dojo.  She fell to ground in a painful thump.  

Ranma bowed to his opponent.  A large grin appeared on his face.  "Victory!"  He acknowledged.  "That was my Zanzouken technique."

"Y-y-you," was all Akane could say.  Ranma was so fast he had left an after image of himself.  But that wasn't possible, right?

"Wow, that was really easy," Ranma stated, still smiling.  "The standard of martial arts in this town must be pretty low."

"What did you say!?" Akane yelled angrily.  The nerve of this jerk.  How dare he insult her like that!

"I said your not that great of a martial artiest," Ranma repeated.  "Or at least your not nearly as good as I am, but then again, who is?"

He didn't even see the mallet that Akane used to hit him.  She stormed out of the dojo, muttering something about losing to a boy, leaving Ranma in a heap on the floor.

Picking himself up and dusting himself off Ranma sighed.  Akane was pretty easy to upset, though he did realize that he had been pretty mean to her.  "This will never work."

"Oh, hello Ranma," Kasumi said to the pony-tailed boy as walked into the kitchen.

"Hi," Ranma replied cheerfully.  He realized just then he didn't know her name.

          Seeing him begin to sweat, Kasumi gave a reassuring smile.  "My name is Kasumi."

Ranma nodded and extended his hand.  "Well, nice to meet you Kasumi.  Hey, do you think I could use your bathroom to wash up?"

"Of course Ranma," Kasumi answered, her friendly smile never leaving.  "As I understand it, you'll be staying here with us for a while, so please treat this as your home."

"Thanks Kasumi," Ranma acknowledged as he headed upstairs.

"What a nice boy," Kasumi said to her self as she continued doing dishes.

A bit later, Ranma found himself soaking in the bathtub, considering his options.  There had to be some way out of this engagement.  He wanted an adventurous life of training in the art.  Wandering down mysterious roads.  Testing his skill as well as the will to survive.   He didn't want to be stuck in some preadolescent marriage.  So what if the trip to China had just one disaster after another, it had been an adventure.  His skill had greatly improved in the two years he spent there.  He'd love to go back and face his old rivals there to prove his superiority (As if he needed to prove it, he was Ranma Saotome after all.  Of course he's superior).  

Sadly there didn't seem to be anything he could do.  He'd be damned if he were going to back out of family honor.  It simply wasn't manly, and he knew if his mother were there she'd kill him on the spot.  In fact she'd most likely force him to do it himself.  The pony tailed martial arts expert sighed to himself in a deep silence.  He could simply go with the flow, marry one of those girls, settle down and pretend to be fulfilled in life.  Or he could just say screw it, take off now and lose his honor.

Some choice.  Imprisonment or risk of being a ronin.

Oh well, things could be worse.  He had managed to meet the Tendos as himself and not his cursed form.  He'd simply explain about the curse later.  Maybe those girls would get disgusted and break the engagement.  Unless they were into to that perverted stuff.  That Akane may swing that way.  She seemed a bit too macho to be a regular boy-dating chick.  Realizing that he was just delaying the inedible, Ranma stood up from the bath.

Just as the door opened and a very naked Akane Tendo steeped through.  

"..."  Ranma said to the intruder.

"..." Akane wisely replied.  She quickly rushed out the door, slamming it behind her.

 The younger Saotome buried his face into his hands.  "That's just great."  The horrible scream he heard outside the door did nothing to calm his nerves.

Downstairs, two old friends (Both humans by the way) sat silently in the dark, though tears only flowing from one's eyes.

"So that's the story," Soun commented.  "My heart weeps for you, Saotome."

"Don't cry for me, Tendo," Genma responded.  "My curse does nothing save for increases my already large arsenal of fighting ability.  I can even fly now."

"But what of you son?"  Soun asked.

"Nothing seems to phase Ranma these days," Genma assured him.  "I believe his mother's death affected him in seemingly positive ways.  He is even more dedicated to the art, and holds honor above all else."

"He seems like a perfect husband for one of my girls," Soun sighed happily.  "The schools will be united at last."

"Indeed, Tendo," Genma agreed. 

The sound of a screaming youth interrupted their friendly conversation.

The father of the Tendo sisters gasped.  "That's Akane!" 

Some time later, each member of the Tendo clan and the Saotome clan sat around the dinning room table in order to discuss the engagement.

Ranma and Genma sat across the Tendos, Akane giving Ranma a dirty look every once and a while.  It wasn't her fault he had angered her so badly she didn't notice the occupied sign on the bathroom door.  She bet that pervert took a good long look at her body.

"As you may or may not have guessed, this man is my old friend," Soun started.

"Genma Saotome," the older Saotome introduced.  "You've already met my son, Ranma."

"As you know, one of you will marry Ranma to fulfill a promise made years ago in order to secure the Anything Goes Style of Martial Arts," Soun explained.  His face darkened.  "However..."

"...However," Genma picked up.  His face too was filled with pain and sorrow.  "Our experience in China has left Ranma different from other boys his age."

"Yeah, he's a lot more perverted," Akane mumbled.  No one seemed to hear her comment.

Genma rubbed his chin, seemingly in deep thought "How shall I explain?" He wondered aloud.  "I know!"

With that said, Genma attempted to toss Ranma into the koi pond in the back yard.  Too bad for him Ranma saw it coming and easily countered the attack.  It was Genma who ended up in the pond.  Then something a bit different rose from it.  An 8'0" foot tall monster with a falcon's head and a furry muscular body (Almost as if it were a lion's body complete with a tail), massive arms and legs with razor sharp claws and talons adding its dangerous nature.  It featured large wings on its back as well.

"It's that cute creature we saw earlier," Kasumi stated.

"I ask again: What the hell is that thing?" Akane again demanded of Ranma.

'I wonder how much those talons are worth on the black market,' Nabiki thought to herself.

"It's a griffin," Ranma explained to Akane. "A mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a bird."

"A Griffin?  Why is your father a griffin?" Akane asked.  She didn't even know Griffin's had been real.

"Cause he was dumb enough to go to Jusenkyo," Ranma mocked.  He was answered by being splashed by bucket of water that was obviously sent by Genma-Griffin.

"[Your one to talk, 'son']" Genma-Griffin responded.

Everyone was now staring at the cute red head girl who had replaced Ranma.

"He's a girl now," Kasumi noted.

"He's a bigger pervert then I realized!" Akane gasped, shocked at the change.

Nabiki gave her father a sarcastic look.  "You sure have some strange friends, daddy."

"They weren't always like this," Soun explain. "It was the result of a dangerous training exercise in China."

A kettle of hot water later...

"Ah yes, it was about two months ago," Genma began his tragic tale.

"The trip to China was to be the final stretch of a ten year training trip in which I was to teach Ranma the most advance styles of martial arts known to man. We spent two years there, during which, Nodoka was tragically taken away from us."  He paused for emphasis before continuing.  "In any case, we continued on, the path of martial arts being filled with pearl after all.  It was then we reached a place called Jusenkyo..."

Flashback

"Here sirs, is Cursed Ground of Jusenkyo," their Chinese guide explained to them.

"Hey pal, this wouldn't have happened to be the place where people turn into animals and stuff."

"That's nonsense Ranma," Genma remarked.  "Where did you pick up such rubbish?"

"Aiya, is very true," the guide stated.  "Most customer not listen to my tragic story though."

"Each spring is cursed.  If someone falls in the spring then they take the body of whatever drowned there last," Ranma interrupted.  He then surprised the guide by adding in almost perfect Chinese " Unlike that fat fool, I read the catalog."

With a look of relief the guide responded "You seem to be much wiser then the usual foreigner who comes here." The guide responded looking directly at Genma.  "It's not too often a customer actually knows anything about this evil place or even speaks half-decent Chinese."

"That's all a lot of foolishness," Genma said sternly.  He hadn't caught any of the Chinese but he did hear them mention the springs being cursed.  "There are no such things as curses."

"Sure pop, whatever," Ranma said lamely.  "I still ain't going up there to train."

Genma's eyes shifted.  "What's wrong boy, are you a coward?"

Annoyed, Ranma glared at his father.  "Pop, just forget about this place.  Let's just skip it and go back to Japan while we still can."

"Oh, I see now."  Genma gave his son a wicked smile.  "You're afraid if we spar here you'll be defeated easily.  Perhaps your skill isn't as unmatched as you'd like to think."

That did it.  No one questioned the skill of Ranma Saotome.

"Let's finish this once and for all," Ranma yelled, his eyes blazing with fury.  They both leapt onto the bamboo poles that were attached to the various springs.  

"Sirs, what you doing?" The guide was panicking.  These two knew the dangers, but had still gone on to test their luck.  Ranma noted the guides concern, so he gave him a confident smile.  Of course Ranma had no intention of falling into a spring, but it would certainly be fitting for his father to fall into one himself.  Like Spring of Drowned Panda or something.  

Genma attempted to get the first kick in, but the much faster Ranma easily countered and knocked his father into the spring below.

"Hey pop, did you change into a goat or what?" Ranma asked his father.  Genma responded by leaping out of the water, now with the form of a monstrous griffin.  It perched itself one the pole closest to Ranma.

The younger Saotome let out a fearful yelp at the sight of his father's new form.  "W-W-W-W-What is t- t-t-that?" Ranma demanded of the guide.  He certainly wasn't expecting something like that to come out of the water.

"That was spring of Drowned Griffin.  Very tragic tale of Griffin who drown there 2,800 year ago."  The guide paused before adding.  "Well, that Griffin attack many villages and kill many people.  I guess it not tragic that it drown there."

Ranma didn't hear the guide's story as the giant monster that used to be his father knocked the boy straight into another random spring.  

"Oh, too bad, you fall in spring of drowned young girl.  Very tragic tale of girl who drowned there 1,500 year ago.  Now you have body of young girl.  And you seemed so cautious too.  Oh well, I still get paid, yes?"

Again, it was doubtful that Ranma heard the guide as he was busy screaming due to his sudden change of gender.

End Flashback

"The cursed ground of Jesenkyo," Soun said once the story was completed.  "For years its true horror was shrouded in mystery, but now..."   Ranma shuddered at the memory.  One of several he wished he didn't have. 

The pony tailed boy in question suddenly stood up.  "I warned you pop!" He angrily grabbed his father's collar.  He really felt like killing Genma right now.   "I told you it was cursed, but did you listen?   No! You just had to see for yourself, didn't you?"

Genma responded by tossing the off guard Ranma into the pond.

"Ranma, you sound like a girl!" The elder Saotome yelled.  "Weren't you prepared to lay down your life for the sake of the art?"

"My life yes," the now female Ranma yelled from the pond.  "My manhood is another story!"  She suppressed the urge to splash her father with some water.  Genma would only become much stronger and gain flight ability.  Ranma simply climbed out of the pond, raced back at her father and punched him extremely hard on the head. 

Soun interrupted the fight between the Saotomes.  "So when doused with cold water you turn into a girl."  He added to his reasoning by pouring a kettle of hot water on Ranma-chan.  "But hot water changes you back into a boy."

The now male Ranma twitched in pain from the water he was given.  "H...Hot water, not boiling!"  Soun responded by chuckling at the whole situation.

"Your problem isn't so bad," Soun stated as he patted the boy on the back.  He turned to his three daughters.  "My oldest daughter Kasumi, she's 19.  My middle daughter Nabiki, she's 17.  And my youngest daughter Akane, she's 16.  Pick anyone you like, and she's your fiancée."

All three girls began to sweat.  True enough when the handsome boy who arrived at the Tendon's doorstep a few hours earlier the prospect of marriage didn't seem so outrageous.  However now that they learned he changed genders marriage with him seemed a bit....odd.  

"Akane would be the best choice," Kasumi mentioned.  Nabiki heartily agreed.  

"Sure, she's always talking about how she hates boys," the middle girl added.  She looked directly at her little sister.  "Well, you're in luck Akane, since Ranma's half girl."

"Me!?!"  Akane gasped.  She suddenly became very angry.  "Marry that pervert freak!?"

"Who you calling a pervert!?"  Ranma bellowed.  He didn't like being insulted on things that weren't true.

"You saw me in the nude, you pervert!"

Ranma's anger calmed down.  This girl was obviously only insulted her because she was a bit confused.  He'd simple would have to explain the situation.  "But you walked in on me, right?"

"Yeah, well, its different then when a girl sees a guy," Akane responded.  She didn't really buy that excuse, but she'd be damned if a boy won an argument with her.

"This is all just a misunderstanding," Ranma replied.  "I saw you naked by mistake, you saw me naked by mistake.  No one's a pervert here"

"Oh yeah, well you're still a pervert," Akane growled.  "Normal people don't change genders."

Their fathers both laugh happily at their exchange of words.  "They're the perfect couple already."  Genma noted.

"He's a couple by himself," Akane replied.

Ranma eye twitched a bit at that comment, but he said nothing.

"I'm sure Ranma is a nice boy once you to know him," Kasumi assured Akane.

"He's a jerk, a pervert, and an egotistic bastard," Akane growled.

"Hey, I'm still here you know," Ranma said realizing he had been forgotten.  "You're not exactly a prize yourself you know!"

Akane at this point wasn't really thinking with her whole bran, just the parts that controlled anger.  "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Let's just say that tomboys with rage problems ain't exactly on my 'To Marry' list!"

Once again Ranma failed to notice the large object wielded by an angry Akane.  Had he paid attention the pony tailed boy might have just shut up instead of going on and on about Akane's bad qualities.  A good table shot to the head on courtesy of the youngest Tendo was enough to get him to finally stop.  And lose consciousness.

Genma just stared at the pile of flesh and wood that was once his son.  "He had that coming."  The others agreed.

Ranma awoke early the next morning in the guest room off the Tendo home.   The sun had not yet risen.  The pony tailed boy rubbed his head.  He was still in pain from the beating he had received from Akane.  Kasumi had later assured him that she was a sweet girl. She could be right.  Akane could have been the nicest girl in the world, but the fact was he didn't care.  He wasn't going to marry her or her sisters no matter what.  

The boy yawned as he began to stretch.  He didn't sleep well these days.  He's only get a few hours at night.  It was just as well; he hated sleeping.  His dreams were always nightmares.  Always the same one.  His mother coming back from the dead questioning his manhood, and it always ended with familiar face asking Ranma why he let him die.

The pony tailed martial artiest shrugged the feeling of dread off, and stood up from his futon.  He looked around his new room.  He hadn't decorated much, save for putting his mother's katana on a mantle.

"One day Ranma, this sword will be yours," she had told him often.  He'd seen many swords over the years, but his mother's "Fire Soul Blade" was the best made by far.  He had trained in the art of kendo almost all his life and had never seen a finer weapon.  He greatly respected this piece of metal.  True, he had learned to love un-armed combat, but in his heart he held a special place for swordplay.

Ranma sighed to himself as his thought's drifted of Akane again.  If she hadn't stared at his naked body for so long he'd swear she was some sort of lesbian.  Maybe she's just bi-sexual.  Yeah that's it.  She's just mostly into women.  That made sense.  In any case, if he ever wanted to go back to his nomadic lifestyle he'd have to **honorably** break the engagement.  But how?  This would take some time.  

Later that morning, Akane Tendo found herself practicing the routine she had for several years now: Jogging.  All her problems tend to wash away when she did this.  Those perverted boys at school, that fool Kuno, that...that freak Ranma who had just entered her life.  This was the one time of day where she could just forget about everything.  The only flaw was that she would have to return to everything at some point.  As she reached the street of the Tendo Dojo, her thoughts drifted to those of Dr. Tofu.  Now there was a **real man, not like those immature boys at school, or any other boy she had met.  **

Those thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sounds of a vicious battle.  In fact, the sound was coming from her house.  Upon reaching her home, Akane discovered the Tendo's houseguests fighting a seemingly epic battle in her own backyard.  Though oddly she noticed Genma was in his griffin form.

"C'mon pop, is that all you got?" Ranma taunted.

Genma shrieked in response as he moved his claws in for a fatal blow against his son.  Despite the speed of the attack, Ranma managed to escape it, however the front of his dogi was ripped to pieces and his chest scratched by the razor sharp instruments of Genma-griffin.  Ranma winced back in pain.  He placed his hand on his new scar.  Not bothering with some lame statement of revenge, the younger Saotome leapt straight at his father, his leg outstretched.  Genma-griffin sighed at his son's stupidity.  He easily jumped over the attack and flew several feet in the air.  The young martial artiest smiled as he suddenly vanished, at least in the eyes of the Tendos who by now had all stopped to watch this scene.

Genma-griffin didn't even realize his son suddenly reappearing right above him until it was too late.  Ranma struck his fist a top the griffin's head sending straight into the pond below.  Too bad he couldn't stop himself from falling into the pond himself.

Ranma climbed out of the pond, shaking her head in order to get the access water out of her head.  She turned to the Tendos who by that time were staring at her with disbelief.  The red headed girl simply grinned at them and proudly said, "What a good workout!"

The Tendos all face faulted.

"What kind of family is that?" Akane asked her father.

"One that shows a level of devotion to the art that we can only fathom," Soun replied.

Akane didn't like that answer.  She held devotion to the art.  Very much so in fact, but she couldn't move as fast or seeming hit as hard as 

Ranma could.  He must take some kind of steroid.

Nabiki merely scratched her head.  Her baby sister's fiancé definitely was not a normal person.   She wondered how much money she could make selling pictures of Ranma's girl form.  Kasumi was simply wondering what Griffin's liked to eat, should Genma-griffin decided to eat breakfast the way he is now.

A hot bath later...

"School?"  Ranma had just been told by his father that he would be attending high school.  

"Well, we will be staying here for a while," Genma told him.

Ranma really shouldn't have been surprised that he'd have to face school once again.  He was really hoping to check out the street fighting scene in downtown Tokyo, but that would have to wait for now.  Nabiki passed him on her way out the door, dressed a green school uniform.

"You'll be going to the same school as Akane and me," she told him as she passed by.  Ranma sighed inwardly as he began to head back to his room to see if he could find an old school bag.  Before he could get anywhere he heard Nabiki and Akane arguing over who should show him the way to school.  Did they both dislike him that much that they didn't even want him around?  If that's the case then why doesn't Akane just break the engagement?  

"Hey you two," Ranma called out to the two sisters.  "I'll make my own way to school."  The girls seemed satisfied with that idea, though they both doubted Ranma would find Furinkan High before the bell rang.  Oh well, that was his problem not theirs.

Genma was and Soun weren't as cooperative.

"What are you talking about, boy!?"  Genma yelled.

"Oh Akane, you break your father's heart by not helping your fiancé in his time of need!" Soun cried.

"He's not my fiancé!"  Akane Screamed.  "I hate boys!"

Ranma nodded knowingly.  "Yeah, she's gotta be a lesbian."

"What was that!?" Akane screamed.

"Well, you said you hated guys?" Ranma tried to explain.  Judging by her reaction, there was a good chance he may have been hasty in his classification of Akane's sexuality.

Not given much time to react, the pony tailed martial artist found himself being beaten to a pulp by various heavy objects.  Again.

"Oh Akane, you shame your father."  Soun was really crying now.

A short time later Akane found herself heading to school followed by her pony tailed fiancé who strangely seemed to prefer walking on the fence rather then on the street with her.  This annoyed Akane a bit as she assumed he thought he was too good to walk with her.  Stupid perverted ego maniac boy!  

"We're not getting married you know," Akane reminded the boy.

"Good, keep thinking that," Ranma replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"  

"I don't wanna get married any more then you," Ranma stated calmly.  "All I wanna do is find a cure for my, you know, condition, and then continue on my top priority."

Akane grunted at that.  "And what is you 'Top Priority'?"  Akane asked, a bit curious however she wanted to hid it by sounding sarcastic.

"Revenge," Ranma stated coldly.  

Akane wasn't sure how to respond to that.  His usual cocky tone was replaced with the much darker one she had only heard him use once before.  When her father asked him if his mother would be joining them Ranma responded negatively in the same shameful voice as before.  Genma had explained that she had died in China.  Perhaps there was more to that story then what was said.  

"Is that the school?"  Ranma asked after an acquired silence.

Akane pushed all other thought aside when she realized they had reached their destination.  "Yeah, that's Furinkan High."

"Umm, why is there an army of guys at the front gate?"

True enough, a large mob of teenage boys awaited their oncoming target.  Surprisingly, Akane was more angry then shocked at this display.

"Hate boys, hate boys, hate boys, hate boys," Akane mumbled as she attacked the mob head on.

"Akane, I love you!"  Whack!

"Akane-san this for you!"  Whack!

"My love for you will never die, Akane!"  Bam!

"This is the winning goal of love!"  Pow!

"Go out with me Akane!" Pow!

"Which way is the soccer field?" Whack!

Ranma in amazement watched as Akane beat the living tar out of any boy that even looked like he may be apart of this mob.  No wonder she acted like a lesbian.  She obviously dealt with this sort of thing often since she wasn't surprised by the mob.  He'd hate boys too if they attacked him like that.

"Hey Ranma," a familiar voice called out to him.  Nabiki Tendo so waved to him from her class window. "You'd better get to class."

"What about her?"  Ranma asked, pointing to Akane.

"Don't worry about it, this happens every morning," Nabiki explained.

 Ranma simply nodded, but felt he should at least stay until Akane was finished beating up her attackers.

Luckily it would only take another few seconds.  Then Akane stood in the middle of the fallen horde of boys breathing a bit heavily.

"You'd think they'd take a hint..." Akane muttered.   No sooner did those word emerge from her mouth did she instinctively plucked a speeding airborne rose that was zooming passed her.  That could only mean one thing.  She turned to her upperclassman and lamely greeted "Good morning, Kuno."

Standing in his usual kendo uniform, Tatewaki Kuno smirked a cocky smirk as he sniffed a red rose while holding a bokken in his other hand.  "Ah, what a truly boorish lot. Each fool dreamed of impossible dreams of going out with you, on the eve of your defeat that is.  Oh what fools these mortals be that they believe they could achieve that which only one great as I could possibly hope to gain."  He paused for dramatic effect before clutching his weapon of choice with both hand and facing the Tendo girl.  "Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.  Will thou do me the honor of fighting with me?"

Ranma at this point was laughing a bit.  He approached Akane with a rather large smirk on his face.

"Heh, so this is how you spend your mornings, eh?"  Ranma playfully asked.

Kuno pointed his sword at the newcomer.  "And who art thou who sees fit to talk to the fair Akane Tendo in such a familiar tone?"

"Why, you got a problem with who I talk to?"  Ranma asked, his smirk not fading.

"Stay out of this," Akane warned.  "Or you're gonna get hurt."

"I doubt it," Ranma replied.

"Cur, who are you to address my prowess in such a manner?" Kuno demanded.  He didn't let Ranma answer though.  "Wait, it is proper to give one's own name first.  Fine then, mine I shall give.  I am the undefeated kendo club captain, and rising new star of the high school fencing world.  My name strikes fear into the hearts of men.  But my peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furikan High!"  Lighting struck a nearby tree for emphasis.  "Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen."

Ranma simply shrugged.  "Yeah, well I'm staying with Akane and her family..."  The older boy cut him off.  "Staying with the Tendos?!  Under the same roof...AS AKANE!?!" 

With a voice filled with rage, Kuno swung his bokken at full force at his nameless opponent.  Ranma easily leapt over the attack.

"I'm the heir of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Art, and judging from that attack, I'm the guy who ends your undefeated record."  He tossed his bag to Akane before landing.  "I'm Ranma Saotome, age sixteen, and I accept your challenge."

"Okay people, take your bets," Nabiki spoke into a large megaphone as her lackeys collected money from the surrounding students.  "Who do you think will come out with the victory:  The fierce self proclaimed 'Blue Thunder' Tatewaki Kuno, or the mysterious dark horse, or should I say 'Wild Horse', Ranma Saotome?"

Kuno ignored his peers for the moment.  He would need to concentrate on this _lesser _fighter now.  He'd make this quick so he could spend time with his beloved Akane.  He swung his bokken toward Ranma yet again, same result as last time except Ranma decided to retaliate with a swift and powerful kick while airborne.  Oops, looks like Kuno has a glass jaw.  One Kick and he's already out cold.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"  Most of the male population screamed.  "We bet everything on Kuno!"  

"Well, well, well, looks like you boys owe me some money." Nabiki laughed.  It looks like this Ranma was as useful as she hoped.  

"Victory!"  Ranma acknowledge, though he was a bit upset that the Great Kuno-Sempei put up no fight.  

"Don't get too cocky," Akane yelled, obviously jealous over her fiancé's skill.  "You're not that good!"

Ranma didn't really notice Akane storm off angrily as most of the student body had begun cheering wildly for him.  A normal person would have figured they just really hated Kuno, but for an ego as large as Ranma's...

"They really love me," Ranma realized as he waved to his fans.  His face darkened though as a familiar figure came to mind.  Though no one seemed to notice a single tear rolled down the pony tailed martial artist's cheek as he said a single word under his breath. 

"Tenma..."

To be continued…

Author's Note:  Well, there it is.  The first chapter of my first fanfic.  I hope I did okay. Zanzouken is I move that was barrowed from Dragon Ball.  Part of Kuno's speech was borrowed from the play Hamlet.  I do not own either of these.  Ranma is out of character, but the reason should be explained in upcoming chapters.  There are clues in this chapter as well.

Revision Note:  Cleaned the chapter up a bit, and added some more detail to certain parts.


	2. Integration

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  I had nothing to do with it.  Please do not sue me; I have little or no money.

**Chapter 2**

**Integration**

"Class, we have a new student with us," the teacher of Ranma's new home room teacher announced.  "Ranma Saotome.  He's just returned to Japan from a trip to China so let's give him a nihao welcome."  
"Wow, he's gorgeous!"

"That's the guy who kicked Kuno's ass!"

"Is he single?"

"He does them martial art, right?"

Ranma rubbed his head in embarrassment.  

The teacher sighed as she motioned to his class to settle down.

"Ahem, anyway Ranma, why don't you tell us about yourself?" The teacher requested.

"There isn't a lot to tell, really," Ranma admitted.  "I'm a martial artiest who just got back from training trip to China."

"What was China like?"

"What style of martial art do you practice?

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Ranma simply laughed.  "China was...you know, China.  I use the Anything Goes style.  And I don't have a girlfriend."  The last statement caused the most of the female population give a silent cheer.

"Alright, that's enough introduction time," the teacher warned.  "Just because you're new doesn't excuse the fact that you and Akane Tendo were late for class.  Go stand in the hall."

Five minutes later, the two teens found themselves standing in the hallway holding buckets full of water.  Akane was very upset at the whole situation.  She became even angrier when she noticed that Ranma was actually whistling to himself and didn't seem to mind that he was being punished or that he had gotten her in trouble.  Maybe he was too stupid to realize what he'd done.  She decided to enlighten him.

"This is all you fault, you know," Akane explained after a long while a silence.

"It was your fight," Ranma reminded her.

"Yes, but I never waste time helping Kuno to the nurse's office afterward."

The pony tailed martial artist just shrugged.  It was true that after the crowd had broken up he had dragged the older boy to the nurse's office.  "Yeah, well who asked you to come anyway?" Ranma said lazily.  

"Excuse me for being concerned!  You didn't even know where the nurse's office was, you jerk!"  She was only trying help, after all.  He didn't need to be an asshole about it.

There was a long, awkward silence between the two.  Finally Ranma asked "So what was the deal with that whole fight, anyway?"

Rolling her eyes at the memory, the youngest Tendo sister responded "Well, at the beginning of the semester Kuno made this speech..."

A few months ago…

Kuno walked across the stage of the auditorium carrying his selected speech.  He checked the microphone, and then went on with his entry.

"The vengeance of heaven is slow but sure.  If you wish to ask Akane out you must prove your worth to her by defeating her in combat!  I, Tatewaki Kuno, otherwise known as the Shooting Star, shall permit no other terms!"

"Err...Kuno, you do realize this is a speech contest, right?" a voice asked him from off stage.

"Of course," Kuno replied.  "Now let us not waste anymore time with these lesser speeches and present my prowess with first prize, as my speech was obviously the greatest of all."

"That's amazing," Ranma pondered.  That guy was really thick for setting this all up, and the boys at this school were even worse for going along with it.

"The worse thing is that he ended up winning the contest," Akane fumed.  "All the boys have been challenging me since.  Especially Kuno.  And for some reason I always win."

"Kuno's probably holding back," Ranma said lazily.  

"Why do you say that?" Akane asked bitterly.  This boy better not be implying that Kuno was more skilled than her.

"Well, if these guys listen to anything Kuno says then he must be pretty fierce, right?  I mean, they get a huge beating from you everyday, so dealing with Kuno must be way worse then fighting with you."

Akane growled at that.  He was suggesting that Kuno was better then her.

"Plus," Ranma continued. "It's pretty unlikely that anyone who just got through beating the hell out of a mob would win too easily over a fresh opponent.  Well, I could, but not everyone."

The dark haired girl balled her fist at her fiancé.  "Why don't you try me for real sometime," Akane muttered.  

"Didn't we do that already?"

"I mean without those dirty tricks you pulled last time," Akane angrily replied.  It was, after all impossible to vanish like he had, right?

"Those weren't tricks," Ranma explained. He gave her an evil smile and clenched his own fist.  "But if you really wanna fight we can, but I ain't gonna go easy on ya like that Kuno guy..."  Cutting his statement short Ranma expression changed to a more serious one.   "Look out!" he shouted as he suddenly leapt into the air juts avoiding a splash of water which seemingly came out of nowhere.

"Never, Ranma Saotome!"  Tatewaki Kuno stood before the two teenagers holding an empty water pale.

"What's up, Kuno?" Ranma asked as he landed gracefully on dry hallway floor.  "Want your ass kicked again?"

"Never will I accept this travesty of justice!"  Kuno yelled.  "Never will I accept your engagement to the fair Akane Tendo!"

Before Ranma or Akane could protest, their classmates suddenly appeared out of no where.

"Engagement?!"  

"But Akane, I thought you hated boys!"

"Akane, every boy in the school is in love with you, couldn't you have left us Ranma?!"

"Wow, have you guys %@#$ yet?  I've bet you've even %@#$."

"It's not true!?" Akane protested.  "Our parents decided it, I swear!"

Ranma wasn't too concerned however.  He needed to concentrate on Kuno right now.

"This is no place to fight Kuno, if you wanna fight follow me," Ranma suggested.  Kuno complied.  In an instant, the two were racing down the hall.  The other students quickly followed.  It wasn't like the teacher's had any authority to stop them after all.

"Here's a nice short cut," Ranma stated as he leapt out a seemingly random open window.

"I follow," Kuno bellowed as he too made a leap of faith.  Unfortunately for the kendoist he was the only one falling.  As he started descending to the ground below.  He noticed that Ranma was still hanging from the ledge of the window.

The pony tailed fighter flashed a cold smile.  "Moron," Ranma exclaimed as Kuno passed him on his way to the swimming pool.

The students were a bit shocked to see Ranma letting Kuno fall like that.  It was a bit devious.  On the other hand it was Kuno so it didn't bother them for very long.  Climbing back into the hallway Ranma saw the crowd staring at him.  Giving them a "V" gesture with his fingers he smiled and yelled out "Victory."  The crowd all cheered (Save for Akane).

"That was reckless," Akane warned her fiancé.  "If that pool wasn't there Kuno could have been hurt."  She didn't like Kuno or anything but even he didn't deserve to be street pizza.

Ranma shrugged as he walked past her, not bothering to make eye contact.  "Don't be stupid.  If there wasn't a pool there I wouldn't have done it.  I take life very seriously; it's just that I wanted an easy way to get rid of that jerk without having to kill him."  Satisfied with his logic, Ranma headed back in the direction of his class.  The crowd followed, all of them eager to become a acquainted with the pony tailed boy.  Akane followed a well, though she grumbled most of the way to class.

Normally Nabiki Tendo didn't spend her lunch hour socially with friends or even using it as a well deserved break as most students did.  No, Nabiki had a business to run and couldn't afford to waste time with such trivial concepts of friends or relaxation.  However today was special.  Kuno had approached her once lunch began and had informed her of his latest encounter with the mysterious Saotome who had somehow bewitched Akane Tendo.  The kendoist demanded to know everything about the new student; he even was willing to pay a very large amount of yen for it.  Nabiki had already told Kuno all she knew about the pony tailed martial artiest earlier, thus in order to receive payment she'd have to do research.  She could do a background check on Ranma, but if he really had been traveling around Japan non-stop for ten years there probably wouldn't be a terribly large amount of useful information.  She would have to probe the boy for information.  She would also have to do it herself, which was a bit of a bother.  However she, as of right now, was one Ranma's closest acquaintances in this school, second only to his fiancée Akane.  As such he was more likely to be open with her then any of her lackeys.  If the price that blasted Kuno named wasn't so high she wouldn't bother, but the risk of falling asleep due to boredom as the dumb jock Ranma told his life story was well worth the effort. 

Finding the pony tailed martial artist wasn't as easy as Nabiki had hoped.  He hadn't been sitting with Akane, though that was understandable considering the two didn't seem to get along.  Asking around had only lead to a dead end since no one had seen Ranma since lunch began.  Tiring herself out the Ice Queen of Furinkan High sat down on the edge of a tree on the courtyard.  It felt nice in the shade.  It had been a pretty warm outside today and walking around in that heat looking for that pony-tailed martial artist didn't exactly make Nabiki feel any better.  This was a nice spot for lunch.  Maybe another time she'd eat here herself.

"Well well well, if it isn't my future sister-in-law," a familiar voice called out to Nabiki from above.

The so-called "Ice Queen" looked up to see the elusive Ranma peacefully sitting on a branch, munching away at his bento.  "Ranma, why are you in a tree?"

Ranma shrugged.  "People in this school are really annoying.  They keep bugging me about stupid things.  So I came up here for a little privacy."

"Should I leave you alone to whatever it is you need privacy for?" Nabiki asked purposely adding a bit sarcasm in her voice.

Ranma caught it, but said nothing about her tone.  "Don't worry about it.  You're not nearly as annoying as most people in this town."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment, Saotome," Nabiki replied lamely.  

Ranma chuckled as he snuck glances at his possible future in-law.  She was way more of a looker then her sister.  Then again he may be biased considering that Akane had beaten him over the head a few times.

"Anyway, what brings you out here," Ranma queried.  

She gave her the pony tailed boy a grin. "I was looking for you actually."

"Really?  Don't tell me you want to date me too," Ranma groaned.

'Egotistic jerk,' Nabiki mentally growled.  She brushed it off and continued.  "Actually Ranma, I was hoping we could get to know each other a little better.  You know, since we're going to be family one day soon."

The pig tailed martial artist chuckled once again.  From the moment he met Nabiki he decided there was something about her he didn't trust.  Upon reaching school he had heard the rumors.  Nabiki was a money grubbing mercenary who would sell out her own grandmother for a few yen.  Not to mention a would-be brother-in-law.  Chances are Nabiki was here to extract information from him.  Most likely to sell it to Kuno who had to most reason to hate him.   He had guessed that Nabiki was the one who informed him of he and her sister's engagement, and this little interrogation was backing up his suspicions.

'That's fine,' Ranma thought to himself, 'As long as we don't probe too deep.'

"Sure Nabs," Ranma said cheerfully. It was a mask and Nabiki could tell.   "But not here.  How about we discuss it over ice cream.  I passed this nice ice cream place on the way to the dojo.  We can go there after school."

Now Nabiki was surprised at Ranma to say the least.  This conversation had revealed a few things about the so-called jock.  He was good at masking his emotions.  Very good.  Plus he was smart enough to arrange their meeting on his own terms.  She suspected that he knew what she was planning, but didn't seem too concerned.  Ranma Saotome was a very interesting subject.

"Alright, I'll see you then," Nabiki said to the pony tailed martial artist as she began walking back to the school.  She look over her shoulder and gave him a wink, while saying "And don't call me Nabs."

Ranma couldn't help but smile. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in Japan 

Ryoga Hibiki was lost.  That wasn't anything abnormal.  He was always lost for the most part.  Only when he was with his family was did he truly feel found.  He hadn't seen them in a year's time.  

"Where am I now?" he wondered out loud.  He had just gotten off a rather beat up fishing boat and now was standing in the middle of a shady looking port.  The kind that doesn't check for ID or a passport.  Because he was always wandering Ryoga had seen this scene many times in many different countries.  Unsure of what country he was in this time, the lost boy decided to ask one of the passing sailors.  

"Excuse me, sir, but what country is this?"  Ryoga asked politely.

"What, did you fall asleep on your boat or something?"  Was the response.  "This is Japan, you idiot."

Normally Ryoga would have punched the man out for such a remark.  However the lost boy was much too happy now that he had returned to the land of his birth.  He calmed down so he could ask the next question.  "Where is Tokyo?"

"Umm...that way," the man said pointing in a specific direction.

Ryoga bowed at he man.  "Thank you."  He turned away from the man and began walking in a totally wrong direction.  The man could hear him mumbling something about "Meeting Ranma Saotome."

"Hey buddy, I said this way!"

Class was boring.  Despite the fact that Ranma always received A's, school it was still boring.  His mother had always been strict about his studies while they were on the road.  This however caused Ranma to be far ahead his grade level.  Rather then paying attention to what was being taught Ranma was thinking about testing out of the freshmen class.  Of course if he did that he would be spending more time with Kuno which wouldn't exactly be fun.  A little nap should help him think.

Akane stole another glance at her fiancé who was by now in a deep sleep.  They guy was a jerk with no redeeming qualities that she could find.  He was arrogant and kind of a pervert.  Well maybe not, she could admit that he may not be perverted, but a jerk he was.  He constantly insulted her and even had the nerve to call her a…a…lesbian! Now he was sleeping through class!  She sighed to herself as she thought about her current predicament. 

"And your homework for tonight is to finish reading Chapter 4, then outline it" the teacher announced just as the bell rang.

Ranma, hearing this, nearly leapt from his desk, but was cut off by the several females in the class who had been waiting for their chance to talk to him.  Despite being in the center of the large crowd he could tell that the male population, as well as Akane, were glaring at him.  The youngest Tendo sister was still mad at him and the boys were obviously jealous.  She quickly left the class room in disgust.  The pony tailed martial artist just shrugged.  With any luck he and his father would be packing up and leaving the Tendo Dojo soon, so it doesn't matter what Akane does, right?   

Ranma began making up excuses to his admirers in the hopes of escaping.  He had a feeling that Nabiki wasn't someone who liked to wait.

On his way out of the building Ranma instantly realized someone was about to attack him.  Acting on instinct alone, the pony tailed boy quickly and effortlessly dodge a barrage of attacks form the unknown attacker who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.  When he realized who it was he let out a disgusted groan.  "You again? Damn it Kuno, how many times do I have to drop you out of a third story window before you get the hint!"

Without stopping his attack, Kuno replied "Your tricks are no match for my prowess, Saotome!  I shall smite thee and win the heart of the fair Akane!"  

Having had enough of Kuno's mouth, the heir the Saotome School suddenly delivered a crushing kick to the older boy's head causing him to be knock several feet away.  The kendoist fell to ground rather painfully.  It was far to fast for the average person to see it, but Kuno certainly felt it.  A crowd had gathered around the two fighters.  Ranma VS. Kuno round three had been as short as the last two, but most of the student body couldn't get enough of seeing "Blue Thunder" get the crap kicked out of him.

"You're the man, Saotome!"

"He's such a hunk!  That Akane is so lucky to be engaged to him!"

"Did you see how fast he laid out Kuno?"

"Man, I thought Kuno and Akane were good fighters, but that Ranma guy is light years ahead of them!"

Ranma nervously regarded his "fans" as they continued cheering for him.  He smiled and waved at them while slowly walking toward the gate, not making any sudden movement for fear the over excited crowd may attack him.  Eventually the heir to the pony tailed boy made his way to the front gate.  Surprisingly another familiar character was waiting for. 

"Oh, it's you Nabiki," Ranma realized.

The Ice Queen had been watching from the gate the whole time.  Like the rest of the student body it really did amaze her how easily Ranma defeated the self called "Blue Thunder of Franken High School."  She too had figured that, with the exception of her sister, Kuno was the best fighter in town.

The pony tailed martial artist smiled a happy at his future sister-in-law.  "Have you been waiting long?"

Nabiki shrugged, and return the smile.  "Not that long, but don't worry about it. I'll put it on your tab."

"Gee thanks," Ranma spat out as sarcastically as he could manage.  He leaned against the gate, next to where Nabiki was standing and relaxed a little bit.  "This school is so messed up.  Psychos with swords, an easily manipulated student body, girls who treat you like an overnight pop sensation.  This day has been really shitty."

Nabiki was giggling at the misfortune of sister's fiancé, much to his annoyance. "Well at least it can't get any worse," Akane's older sister replied.

Right on cue a sudden shower of rain poured down suddenly on an unsuspecting Nerima.  After two minutes it stopped, just as mysteriously as it began.  It was almost as if it rained just for Ranma.

The newly female Ranma's eye narrowed.  "Son of a bitch."

Nabiki had suggested they get hot water from the neighborhood clinic since it was pretty close by and the doctor who ran it was a family friend.  Once arriving there they found that the doctor had seemingly stepped out for the moment.  The entire clinic was empty, though nothing had been locked.

"He's probably in his office in the back," Nabiki had told Ranma.  She had gone to look for him leaving the pony tailed girl alone in the waiting room.  

"What a day," Ranma thought to herself.  She was slowly beginning to hate Nerima as nothing good had happened to her since she got there.  She had been forced into an engagement she didn't want, and at the same time became a target of a "modern samurai."   For now she was stuck with Akane as a fiancée, but there had to be something she could do about Kuno.  She needed to somehow get the kendoist off her back without hurting him too badly.  But what could he do?  As long as she was engaged to the girl Kuno loved she may never get rid of him.  

The red haired girl's thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly felt a hand touch her shoulder.  Acting on reflex Ranma quickly turned around and used a defensive stance.  She calmed when she realized it was only a skeleton being held by a smiling and seemingly harmless young man wearing glasses.  Well older then Ranma of course but younger then her father.  Maybe he was around 29 or so.

The man moved the skeleton's hand so it looked like it was waving.  "Pardon me," the bag of bones "said."

Relaxed, Ranma too smiled.  "Wow, I'm impressed.  No many people can sneak up on me like that. "  

"Oh, you'll find that Betty and I have many tricks up our sleeves.  That is if Betty wore any clothes."  The man was laughing now.  Ranma felt a warm gentleness from this guy and instantly decided that she liked him.  She too joined in the laughing

The man with glasses offered his hand.  "Dr. Tofu Ono, at your service."

Ranma readily shook Dr. Tofu's hand.  "Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

The young doctor adjusted his glasses and nodded knowingly. "Anything Goes, huh?  That's the same style that the Tendo's use.  Any relation?"

"Yeah, my old man and Mr. Tendo trained together when they were younger.  Me and Pop are staying at the dojo."  She didn't bother to mention that she and Akane were to be married.  It didn't seem important. 

At this time Nabiki had finally returned, only to see that Ranma had apparently met the good doctor.  "Good afternoon, Dr. Tofu."

Tofu at the Tendo girl once he realized that she was there.  "Good afternoon to you too Nabiki.  Can I assume that you and Ranma here came together?"

Nerima's resident mercenary shrugged.  "Yes doctor.  We were actually wondering if we could borrow some hot water."

D. Tofu was a bit confused with the request, but was happy to comply.  Since he was about to make tea anyway it wasn't a bother at all.  As the water heated up the doctor attempted to make some small talk.  "So Ranma, how long will you and you father being staying in Nerima?"

"They'll be here for a while," Nabiki interjected.  "After all he's engaged to Akane."

Ranma slapped her forehead.  She knew Nabiki had said that on purpose.  Then again it's not like she told her not to tell anyone.  

Dr.  Tofu's eyes narrowed.  "He's going to marry Akane?"  He paused for a few seconds then snapped his fingers.  "Jusenkyo?"

The pony tailed girl laughed nervously. "Umm yeah, how'd ya guess?"

"I sensed some trace of magic in you aura, but didn't think anything of it at the time.  When you asked for hot water I suspected, but once Nabiki referred to as 'he' it all made sense."

Ranma-chan smiled at the doctor's wit.  "Nice detective skills, Doc.  You wouldn't happen to have a cure somewhere in here, would you?"

Dr. Tofu sadly shook his head.    "I'm sorry, but I have never heard of a cure for a Jusenkyo curse." 

Not seeming to mind the lack of a cure, Ranma replied "Ah well.  Hey, how do you know about the place though?  You're the first guy I met who' even heard its name."

Dr. Tofu was once again smiling, admiring the good nature Ranma seemingly possessed. "Oh you know, I used to do a bit of traveling.  You hear things like that when you're on the road."

Ranma could relate.  She of course had traveled for ten years and had heard many legends and such.  

Tofu continued.  "So Ranma, you and Akane are going to be getting married?"

"Our dad's decided that, not us," Ranma assured.

Tofu never lost his smile "Regardless, it's much too early for that.  Your both still children after all."

"I bet Akane wouldn't be too happy to hear that, Doctor," Nabiki muttered.

"What was that, Nabiki," asked the good doctor, seemingly unable to hear all of what the brown hair girl had said.  When Nabiki just shook her head he let it go.  

Noticing that the water had heated up he poured a cup for his red headed guest. Ranma quickly splashed herself with the water and reverted back to the male side.  Tofu's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.  "Amazing!"

"Well I guess we'll be heading out."  The two teens gathered their possessions and began to head out of the back rooms.  Tofu nodded understandably.  "You'll have to join me for tea one day, Ranma.  I'd love to hear more about Jusenkyo. You're invited as of course Nabiki."

The two teens said their goodbyes to Dr. Tofu and took their leave.

Later Ranma and Nabiki finally managed to get to the ice cream palor that Ranma had mentioned ealier.  It was pretty small, but it a nice little place.  The two seated themselves at a small table by one of the windows and waited for someone to take their order.

"That Tofu guy is a martial artist, right?"  Ranma asked as he waved over a waitress after waiting a while.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at her future brother in law.    "As a matter of fact he is.  I couldn't tell you what style he studied though.  That's Akane's department."  

The two briefly paused with their conversation to place their orders.  "I could tell," Ranma finally responded.  "The guy totally erased all traces of his presence.  Like I told the doc, there ain't too many people that can sneak up on me.  He must have had years of training to pull that off."

Nabiki could see that Ranma had lost sight of the purpose of this outing.  "Yes Ranma, Dr. Tofu is a very interesting subject but let's not veer off course, Saotome."  It was more direct then the Ice Queen had originally planned, but by now she figured that it was a pointless to even try to hide what she was really after. 

The Pony tailed martial artist shrugged. "You wanted some information , right? Ask away, Nabs."

The brown haired mercenary felt her left eye twitch when Ranma once again used that nickname.  None the less she had a job to do, regardless of how annoying it may be.  

"Well Ranma, why don't you tell me about yourself."

"There ain't much to tell, really."

"C'mon, Saotome.  You've spent years traveling around the country You just came back from China.  You must have something interesting to say about yourself."

Ranma closed his eyes and reminded silent for what seemed like hours.  After a while an eternity that lasted  only minutes he spoke.  "I guess it wouldn't hurt to give you a brief overview of my life.  Fine, I'll start from the beginning.

"Ten years ago Pop decided that it was a good idea to drag me off on a training trip that would last, well, years.  I don't remember too much from back then but I know Pop signed some kinda deal with Mom before we left.  Don't ask me what it was cause I got no clue.  Anyway the purpose of the trip was to make me the greatest martial artist of my generation.  You know, a man among men."

"That worked out, didn't Ranma," Nabiki mocked.

The pony tailed fighter frown at the Tendo girl's remark.  "Ah, shut up.  Anyway, as I was saying I was supposed to become a man among men.  About six months after we left home Pop and I were staying in Kyoto.  I met one of my best friends there.  Get this, Pop tried to get me engaged to her.  Stupid griffin."  Ranma paused at the memory of his father's plan to steal Ukyo's father cart.  He made a mental note to pound the old man extra hard at the next sparring match.  He shook his head and continued.  "After about two weeks though Mom shows up.  Pop wasn't too happy about that."

Nabiki nodded.  "A mother's love would only soften the boy."  She said this as close to Genma voice as she could.

"You got it!  That's exactly what Pop said.  But Mom said that it was just plain cruel to separate a child and his mother for the length he had suggested.  She had spent the last six months tracking us down.  Not only that but she had a kid with her too."

The brown haired girl gasped.  "You mean she…"

Ranma began to sweat and wave his arms defensively.  "No way, Mom would never do something like that!  The kid was the son of friend of hers who she found wandering Tokyo.  He was homeless and eating out of trash cans for God's sake, so I think it was pretty appropriate for her to keep him around.  He stayed with us from then on.  Pop kept putting him through stupid and dangerous training though.  It kind of made him pretty emotionally unstable so he got us into trouble sometimes.  Anyway, Mom forced her way into the training trip which was cool because Mom was a master with a katana.  She taught me the way of the sword while Pop taught the way of the fist."  He smirked as he thought about how versatile he was in terms of fighting.

The conversation took a brief pause when their ice cream arrived.  "So, that's why daddy asked you if your mom was coming last night," Nabiki realized.

"Yeah.  It was hard on us though.  Four people roaming Japan ain't practical, but we were happy.  Until China."  Ranma paused once more.  He held a similar expression that he wore the night before when Soun asked about his mother.

"She died," Nabiki said with as much sincerity as possible.

Ranma shook his head.  "She didn't just die, she got killed.  By an amazon."

Nabiki eyes widen.  Killed?  Amazon?  What was he getting at.

The pony tailed boy saw her questioning gaze.  "In the Bayankala mountains of the Xinghai Province in China there's a village called Joketsuzoku.  It's near Jusenkyo.  It's inhabited by a female dominated society that call themselves amazons.  It's weird, I know, but remember you're talking to a guy who magically turns into a girl."

The middle Tendo girl nodded.  "Okay, so these amazons' killed your mom?"

"One of 'em did.  They got this crazy rule that if you defeat them in combat then they kill you.  I wasn't there when it happened but I was told that Mom beat an amazon in a fight and later the…the bitch poisoned her!  She didn't even have the guts to face her head on!"  Ranma had become emotional and had to stopped while came back to himself.  

Nabiki too had lost her mother, but even so she couldn't relate to a person had lost theirs in such a way.  She had begun to see what made the young man tick.

Having calmed down Ranma continued.  "After that me and Pop headed to Jusenkyo, and well, you know the rest."

"But did you ever find the killer?" 

"No.  All I found out is that she was some kind of rouge amazon who got booted out the village.  But if I ever meet that chick…"

Nabiki decided to quickly change the topic.  The topic of his mother's killer was off limits.  "What ever happened to that other guy you were traveling with?"

"Oh him?  After we buried Mom he went off to train by himself.  He took it really hard, you know.  But he knows where Pop and I are, so he'll turn up sooner or later.  Hell, he'll probably show up when we least expect it."

By this time both of them had finished their ice cream.  Since Ranma's story was done, more or less, there was no reason to stay.  The pony tailed martial, believing that it was the man's duty to pay the bill, pulled out a wad of cash and placed enough on the table to cover the meal and tip.  Of course this didn't escape Nabiki attention.  Instantly her "Money Sense" began tingling. 

"That's a lot of cash you got there Saotome,"  Nabiki noticed as she desperately tried not to seem too interested.

Ranma smiled cheerfully and innocently.  "Heh, heh, I won a few tournaments over the last ten years."

They headed out of the parlor.  Kasumi would be getting a bit worried if they didn't back to the dojo soon. As the two headed back home, Ranma turned to Nabiki and, with the most cheerful and happy face you would ever see, said point blank "So now that you know a little bit more about me go ahead and sell the info the Kuno or any other idiot out there.  Since I left all the important stuff I really don't care.  Later."  With that the pony tailed boy lepta onto a nearby roof.  He stuck his tongue out as a final insult then quickly hoped away, rooftop to rooftop leaving a bewildered Nabiki alone.

"What the hell...just happened here?"

Despite the fact that she had just heard his life story, Ranma Saotome was still a mystery wrapped in an enigma to her.  

To be Continued…

Author's Note:   Holy crap, this chapter sucked!  There was supposed to be more but I think we can all agree that it's too long as it is.  First of all let me address all the nice people who reviewed the last chapter.  Thank you for the kind words of encouragement.  It really motivated me.  There's a few things I'd like quickly mention.  I wrote the last chapter about a year ago and at the time I just hated Akane with a vengeance.  These days I realize that's she's really not all that bad.  So I'm going to go easy with the girl and try not to be such an Akane basher.  Also, you may have noticed that I refer to Ranma's hair as having a pony tail rather then a pig tail.  The fact is that this Ranma never encountered the dragon whisker and thus never got the curse on his hair.  He still had the hair style he had when he first fell into Spring of Drowned Girl.  Finally, some of you asked who Tenma could be.  You know, I don't know.  Perhaps we'll find out together in the next chapter. Or not.  Probably not.

Revision Note:  Just cleaned it up.

Next Chapter:  Ranma faces Kuno (Again), more on the home life of the Tendos/Saotomes, and a certain lost boy makes his debut.


	3. Secrets

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  I had nothing to do with it.  Please do not sue me; I have a family of 24 to feed.  Well maybe not, but I only have $24 to my name, I swear. 

Ryoga Hibiki was lost.  Again.  The lost boy was currently camped out in a forest he didn't think he had ever been in before.  The night was interrupted by a horrible thunder storm.  The rain pored down furiously.  The bandana clad youth didn't care.  He had returned to Japan for one reason:  The defeat of Ranma Saotome.

Standing on a large boulder and embracing the rain Ryoga stared at the seemingly endless trees tops that surrounded him.  "Ranma, it has been one year, two months, and six days.  This time will be different!  I will not lose again!"

The dramatic soliloquy was interrupted when a bolt of lighting struck the ground only a few feet from where the lost boy was standing.

"Ummm…I think I'll call it a night," Ryoga quickly said as he raced back to his tent.

**Chapter 3**

**Secrets**

"Okay Ranma, I'm ready."  Akane Tendo had never been so ready for fight.  She was much more focused for this match then she had ever been before.  Both Ranma and the youngest Tendo sister were in the dojo.  Once cocky martial artist had returned home from the Ice Cream Parlor Akane had demanded a re-match.  Having agreed to do so at school earlier that day the pony tailed fighter made no complaints and followed his fiancée into the dojo.

Ranma had once again not taken up a stance.  What's worse he did it simply to anger Akane.  "Alright, come at me."

Akane wasted no time as she dashed toward the Chinese clothed boy and lunged forward with a side kick to the solar plexus.  Ranma of course had simply bended backwards to avoid it.  Akane was expecting this.  As fast as she could she tried to perform a leg sweep on a seemingly unbalanced Ranma.  The pony tailed boy responded with a small backward flip that put him out of harms way.

The Heir the Saotome School was once again wearing his cocky grin.  "That was much better.  You actually made me have to think instead of relaying on reflex.  You're still no where near my league, though. But don't feel bad.  Not everybody can be as good as Ranma Saotome."

"DIE, YOU EGO MANIAC!!!"

What followed was a repeat of their first fight. Akane would attack and Ranma would dodge.   This went on for a few moments.  The dark haired girl was irate that Ranma was playing with her so and mocking her skill as a martial artist.

"You've got…" Dodge.  "Good stamina." Duck.  "Pretty good…" Sidestep. "Power."  Jump.  "No control."  Dodge.  "No speed." Jump.

Akane was now even angrier at Ranma's assessment.  "Stand still!"  The Tendo girl focused all her strength into a one powerful overhead chop.  Its pathetic speed would make it child's play to escape, but the pony tailed fighter decided to make a point.  He blocked the attack wit his forearm, then looked Akane straight into the eyes.

"You're sloppy.  You've obviously got the sugar coated version of the Anything Goes Style.  Ya got a long way before you can challenge me with such crappy skill."

"WHAT…DID…YOU…SAY!?!"  Akane wasn't sure if she had ever been so angry.  She had no time to react as Ranma introduced his fist to her stomach.  Hard.  The pain was too much, and the girl fell to her knees.  The match was over.

Ranma just shook his head.  "Feh, I ain't gonna fight ya anymore.  It ain't right to pick on the weak."  He walked over to the dark haired girl in question, picked her up and began walking toward her room. Akane was not in a position to complain.

Dinner at the Tendo home was normally not too social due to the fact that within the last few months the entire family had fallen into a basic routine.  However the arrival of the Saotomes would add some topics to talk about.  All the Tendo's were there, even Akane though she wasn't really eating all that much.  Ranma was also there.  He was happily devouring the food that Kasumi had prepared.  He was already on his third plate.  Genma was absent.  The pony tail haired fighter didn't seem to mind that, since his father often stole food from his plate.  Truthfully when the boy had food he didn't seem to care about anything else.  If he did he might have realized that both Nabiki and Akane were stealing glances from him.  

Soun too gave a glance toward the boy, though his was more of a questioning one.  "Son, where has your father run off to? He left right after one round of Go."

Ranma didn't bother to look up from his plate.  "The old man's probably raiding another village.  Ever since he got turned into a griffin he started attacking and stealing from farmers and little rural villages."

Kasumi gasped at the though of that cute creature that Genma turned into picking on poor defenseless people.  "How horrible.  How could he do such a thing?"

Ranma laughed out loud (Though he continued eating and still refused look up from his plate).  "Are you kidding?  He's making up for lost time.  The old fool used to steal, and have me steal, all the time before Mom showed up.  He's got ten years worth of thieving to do to make up for all the times Mom stopped him."

Soun shuttered at the fact that Genma seemed to have turned out very similar to their old master.  

Nabiki gave Ranma a look.  She smirked a little, but dismissed it quickly replacing it with a mask of seriousness.  "So Ranma, how did beating Akane within an inch of her life go when you were in the dojo?"

Everyone stopped.  Soun's eye twitched when he heard that.  "Excuse me," the old man said.

Ever since the Nabiki had first talked to Ranma there has been a silent contest of who could annoy the other the most.  So far The Heir to the Saotome School had been in the lead, reveling to Nabiki that the story of his life was only half told and implied that she would never find out the rest.  The Ice Queen however was far from beaten.  "Well I snuck a peek at the two while they were sparring and Ranma just laid out Akane.  Right, sis?"  

Akane didn't get the chance to answer as her father's head suddenly grew into gigantic demonic purple monster.  His huge yellow eyes were burning with a terrible rage.  "RANMA…HOW DARE YOU HURT MY LITTLE GIRL!"  The creature's tongue, which was both amazingly and horrifyingly long, reached out and began chocking the unsuspecting pony tailed fighter.  Despite the fact that Ranma knew about six ways to escape and counter, he was frankly to shocked to act.

The youngest Tendo tried waving her farther off her fiancé.  "It's okay dad.  I'm not hurt."  That was a lie, of course.  Despite the fact that that pain from the punch she took had long past, her pride was hurting beyond belief.  She had no more excuses.  She now freely admitted that she was no longer the best martial artist in Nerima since she had lost twice to Ranma.

Soun seemed satisfied with his daughters comment and returned to his normal state, leaving a bewilder Ranma coughing and gasping for air.  Nabiki smiled wicked.  "Bet you can't wait to marry into this family, can you Ranma?"

Ranma simply responded with a dirty look, as he was still trying to breathe.

Kasumi smiled sweetly, as usual, not seemingly noticing the chaos that just ended.  "So Ranma, can I assume that you're done with dinner?"

Somehow Ranma was in China.  Though this China was barren, and littered with corpse.  The sky was blood red and the air was deathly cold.  The pony tailed boy looked around, hoping to find someone, anyone.  He was so lonely.  He just wanted some kind of sign that he was not alone.

"Ranma…"  A chilling voice called out from behind the young Saotome.  He quickly turned around to see his mother standing there.  He felt the tears flowing down his cheeks.  "Mom…"

"You are a failure, Ranma," she began.  "What kind of man turns into a woman?  What kind of man kills his friends?"

Ranma was now filled with a mixture of rage and sorrow.  "I…I didn't…I didn't mean to do it!  I tried to save him!

A new figure suddenly appeared.  Shadows covered his face, but Ranma knew who it was. "That's a laugh," the spat out.  "I suggest a plan of action you were too afraid to take and you killed me for it!"

"Tenma…" was all the pony tailed boy could manage to say.

"Why did you let me die?  Why did you kill me!?"

Ranma shot up from his futon screaming Tenma's name.  A dream, that's all it was.   He breathed sigh of relief.  Turning to his right he saws that his father (A griffin at the time) still sleeping peacefully.  For this Ranma was thankful, because now he could weep without fear of being seen.

Soon after the nightmare, Ranma made his way downstairs.  It was still pretty early, but it seemed that Kasumi was up as well as the Saotome heir instantly noticed that the kitchen light was on.  He made his in, thinking that the polite thing to do would be say "hi."

"Good morning, Kasumi," he cheerfully said to his future sister-in-law.

The oldest Tendo girl returned the smile.  "Good morning, Ranma.  You're up early this morning."

Ranma gave his usual cocky grin.  "I'm always up this early.  I'm just going to go work on some forms in the dojo before breakfast."

Kasumi nodded approvingly.  "That's nice.  Well, have fun.  I'll call you when breakfast is ready."  The pony tailed boy smiled again, then turned to leave.  The older girl was about to let him go, but due to then nagging voice in the back of her head she called out to him.  "Ranma, wait."

The boy in questioned turned back with a confused look.  "What is it, Kasumi?"

The light brown haired girl thought about how she should phrase her question.  Finally after a few seconds she asked, "Is...Is everything okay, Ranma?"

Ranma face became serious. "What do you man?"

"I mean…well, I'm sorry if I seem like I'm intruding but earlier this morning I heard…Well I heard you screaming."

Despite the fact that he was inwardly worried Ranma's expression hadn't changed one bit.  "You heard screaming?"

"Not just a scream," Kasumi continued.  "You said a specific word."

"Tenma", they both said at the same time.  The older girl nodded.  "I just wanted to make sure that everything is okay."

Ranma sighed and internally kicked himself for being so weak minded while he slept.  "Don't worry about it, Kasumi.  Everything's fine."  The boy, after saying that, turned away and headed out the kitchen door.

Kasumi, not satisfied with the way the conversation had turned out, called out to the boy once more.  "Ranma, if you ever feel like you need someone to talk to I'm always here."

Ranma turned his head slightly to see a warm and caring smile.  Not unlike the one Dr. Tofu had showed him yesterday.  He nodded as he said "Thanks Kasumi."  With that he left, leaving Kasumi alone with her thoughts.

Breakfast had gone smoothly, minus the brief fight Ranma and his father had over the other's plate of food.  After they finished, Akane and the pony tailed boy headed out toward Furinkan High.  Kasumi had, strangely, asked Nabiki to help her with cleaning the dishes, something she normally did herself.  While Akane had no clue why her older sister suddenly needed help Ranma on the other hand suspected that there was more to it then just dirty dishes.  For now there was nothing to be done. 

The walk toward school walked toward school was awkward and the heir to the Saotome School knew exactly why.  He decided that it would not be good to have Akane mad at him the whole day so he ignored his pride for the moment.  

"Hey Akane, I'm sorry about all that stuff I said last night," he honestly admitted.  "I got real big problem with saying what's on my mind all the time and not thinking about it."

The dark Tendo girl raised her eyebrow with surprise.  She took a long look at her fiancé (Who had again chosen to walk to school along the fence).  Following in his example she too put aside her prided for the moment.  "Well…I guess I'm sorry too.  For, you know, all the beatings I gave you.  I guess I was just intimidated."

Ranma had several wisecracks for such a response, but kept his mouth shut (And they were really funny too so it was seriously killing him to do so).  "Oh really," was what he said instead.

Akane continued.  "I used to be regarded as the best, but since you got here you've proved that you're way better than me.  I knew there were better fighters than me but I guess not having to actually seeing them helped let me believe I was the best at what I do."

Ranma gave her a warm smile.  "Don't worry too much about it, Akane.  You're good.  Not as good as me, of course, but better than average.  In fact you have a lot of good points.  You just need to step up your training.  I'm sure in no time you'll be able to give an actual work out."

The dark haired girl wasn't sure if that was the nicest way to put it, but decided that Ranma's heart was in the right place.  "Thanks."

"Don't get me wrong," Ranma added.  "You're still a tomboy."

Akane again repressed the urge to kill.  "Well, you're still an asshole."

"Fair enough."

They walked along a few more minutes before Akane addressed the boy again.  "What's with the bokken?"

Sure enough Ranma had a bokken strapped to his back. Akane hadn't mentioned it earlier mainly because she had been avoiding looking at the boy until just now.

The pony tailed martial artist simply shrugged.  "I like swords."

"You know, Kuno may get some weird ideas about it."

Ranma rubbed his eyes as if he was crying.  "Boo hoo; I'll may upset Upperclassman Kuno with my bokken."  He said nothing else until they reached the front gate of Furinkan, leaving Akane to wonder what was up her fiancé's sleeves.

Once they arrived at school they both were in for a surprise as the mob that normally attacks Akane in the morning were all lined up crying tears of bitterness and defeat.  

The youngest Tendo sister gave them all questioning glances.  "What's all this about?"

"Akane Tendo," one of these soccer players began.  "We have decided to give up on you and except your engagement to Ranma."

Before Akane could say how the engagement wasn't real a member of the sumo club continued the explanation.  "You see, Ranma Saotome managed to defeat Kuno not once but thrice!"

"He was our greatest fighter, as well as the biggest pervert," the student body president continued.  "And Ranma tossed him around like a rag doll."  

This was a surprise to say the least, but Akane could not rightfully complain.  Ranma's presence, annoying as it could be, had solved one of her major problems.

There wasn't time for celebration though, as out of seemingly the kedoist in question appeared, his aura flushed with anger.  "I see you've heard the rumors, these lies that I was defeated."

"No, we saw it yesterday," one of the tennis players remarked.

"BE SILENT, WORM!"  Furious Kuno knocked the poor kid over the head with a painful blow form his sword.

Ranma's eyed narrowed when the older boy did.  This expression quickly turned to cockiness (It was pretty much his standard face).  "Yo Kuno, I was hoping to run into you today."  He drew his bokken and pointed it at the so-called "Blue Thunder" of Furinkan High. "I challenge you."

The entire crowd was silent.  Yes it was a known fact that Ranma could beat Kuno blindfolded with his hands tied behind his.  However it seemed that the pony tailed idiot was challenging the kendo club captain to a sword fight.  Kuno was an ass, and a bit crazy, but he was unrivaled in the way of the blade.

Kuno smirked evilly.  "It is to laugh.  To think Ranma Saotome would dare raise a sword against Blue Thunder.  If thou wish to face me like a samurai then allow me to put you down as one!  If thou darest tempt me further, draw thy sword!  I accept!"

Many people wished that Nabiki was there so bets could be placed   since they lost much of their cash for betting on Kuno the first fight between the two martial artists.  With the pony tailed boy now in a fight he couldn't hope to win the students were eager to make up their losses by betting against him yesterday.  Unfortunately the middle Tendo sister still had not arrived on campus as of yet.  

Akane Tendo, who possessed the same mindset as her fellow students, approached her fiancé in the hopes of talking him out of this foolish fight.  "Ranma, you know you can't win.  You can't just pick up a bokken and pretend you know how to use it!"

Ranma didn't bother to look at her.  "Butt out Akane.  This is a man to man fight.  Girls should stay out of it."

The dark haired girl became angry at this.  "You jerk!  I'm just trying to help!

"Help me by staying out of the way!"  With this Ranma leapt at Kuno, and swung his weapon.  The older boy was able to block it with his own bokken, but the force of impact nearly knocked him over.

Akane watched all this from the sidelines.  She was fuming.  How could Ranma be so nice one minute and then turn into such a jerk the next?  "Fine, if I'm such a bother to you then I'll just leave you alone."  

Ranma didn't hear his fiancée's statement and also didn't notice her walking into the school.  Currently he was admitting that Kuno wasn't nearly as bad as he first thought.  The older boy's strength with a sword was not to be underestimated.  The battle was fast and furious. Kuno was blocking all of the pony tailed martial artist strikes, then instantly countering with his own.  Those were blocked too, of course, but it was noticed that the younger Chinese clad fighter was being forced to work.  

Kuno's main problem was that he had not taken Ranma's skill with a sword as a serious threat.  "Blue Thunder" was constantly attempting to disarm the Chinese clothed boy, but Ranma's stance was to strong.  The older boy quickly realized that his opponent wasn't just some cocky novice.  

Sweating, the kendoist decided to pull out the last resort.  He unleashed a barrage of sword strikes that moved at a speed that few of the members of the crowd could see.  Ranma on the other hand was not impressed by Kuno's ultimate attack as he effortlessly dodged every blow.  

"Okay, I think I better end this," thought the pony tailed martial artist as he quickly backed away from his opponent.  Strangely he suddenly closed his eyes and stopped moving.  Kuno wasn't what to make of this.  He assumed that Ranma had given up.  It was laughable that the cur would think that he could walk away alive from sword duel.  The Kendoist charged in using an all or nothing suicide attack.  This is hen Ranma opened his eyes.  

"V-SLASH!"

Ranma's battle cry was accompanied by the swing motion of a "V" with his bokken just as Kuno was about to connect.  The older boy was knocked clear across the court yard.  When he didn't get up the fight was declared over.

The crowd was once again cheering for their new hero (As well as cheering for the fact that they never had a chance to bet against him).  Slowly, Ranma walked toward where Kuno lay.  He could see that the older boy was still conscious.  His cloths had been ripped in the front, sporting a "V" shape.  Had a real sword been used, Kuno would most likely bleeding to death right now.

"Oh…to think the greatness of Blue Thunder would end like this," Kuno muttered in a soft, defeated tone.  "Very well Saotome.  I have no regrets of this world, for I have died a samurai's death.  Finish it."

Ranma didn't comply.  He simply picked the kendoist up and put his arm around his shoulder letting the older boy use him for balance.  "What are you doing?" Kuno demanded. 

"I ain't a murderer, you idiot," Ranma replied as he headed for the nurse's office.  "Don't worry about it so much.  It was a good fight.  You actually made me use my desperation move."  The rest of the trip was made in silence.  This gave Kuno time to think about what had just happened.

By lunch time the news of Kuno being beaten in his own game spread throughout the school.  When Kuno didn't return to class, however, rumors that Ranma had taken the boy somewhere and slit his throat were also heard.  

Nabiki, who had arrived at school a few minutes after the fight had ended, was once again using her free time to locate Ranma.  This time it was leaning more on personal than on business.  Earlier that day she and Kasumi had a conversation regarding Akane's fiancé.

A few hours ago…

"So what's up, Kasumi?" he middle Tendo sister asked.  "You don't usually ask for help of cleaning dishes."

Her sister nodded.  "Yes, you're right.  I actually made it up so I could talk to you alone."

Nabiki wasn't sure what Kasumi needed to talk about, but when her sister asked something of you it was very hard to turn her down.  So she listened.

"It's about Ranma.  I know that you two spent a little time together yesterday."  Though Kasumi didn't really approve of it, since it almost felt as if Nabiki was trying to steal Akane's fiancé.  "I was hoping then you could confirm something for me.  This morning I heard Ranma screaming in his sleep.  He was shouting the name Tenma."

Nabiki thought about this for a minute, and then answered "He mentioned that he had a training partner who was on his training trip.  Maybe the guy was this Tenma person."

Kasumi regarded this for a moment, then shook he head.  "I don't think so.  When I asked him about it he just shrugged it off and said it was nothing."

The Ice Queen nodded.  "Well regardless as to what Ranma's dreams are about it's not our problem.  I don't see why we should care what name he screams out a night."

Though Kasumi was not shocked at her sister's statement she was still disappointed.  "You may be right.  However have you noticed the way Ranma smiles."

"You mean that cocky 'I can take on anything' grin or the 'I'm amazingly cheerful' grin?"

"Well, both I suppose.  When you see him smile doesn't it seem like he's forcing it?"

Nabiki nodded.  She had noticed that sometimes Ranma's cheerful grin was nothing more than a mask.

Kasumi went on.  "When he smiles it's like…like he's hurting inside but refuses to express it.  He seems to carry a heavy burden and won't let anyone share it."

Nabiki gave her older sister a puzzled look.  True she herself had noticed this but she was surprised Kasumi was so observant.  Ranma indeed seem like a man in pain, but he hid it so well under his cocky, devil may care attitude.  "Maybe he blames himself for his mother's death."

"Perhaps, but unless his mother's name is Tenma I think there's more to it than that."

"Fine, I'll ask him about it at school." The middle Tendo turned to leave but quickly looked back at her sister.  "Why are you so concerned abut this guy?"

Kasumi smiled.  "A nice boy like Ranma should be happy, don't you think?"

So Nabiki was again looking for her future brother-in-law.  The problem this time was that she couldn't find any trace of him.  He wasn't even in the tree today.  She had asked Akane but for some reason she had denied even knowing a Ranma Saotome.  She assumed that the pony tailed boy had angered her sister again.  After a while of searching she gave up.  Lunch was almost over and she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.  She wandered back toward the tree she found Ranma hiding in last time, sat down and began eating from her bento.  

Her thoughts were on the pony tailed youth the whole time.  She could admit she was attracted to him.  He was very good looking, he was smart (Much smarter than he let on which could either be a good thing or a bad thing), and most all he seemingly had a good amount of money.  There was also something about the mystery that surrounded the boy.  He had obviously lived a hard life while on the road, but that wasn't too surprising since, as her father would put it, "The path of a martial artist is fraught with perils.    
Nabiki pushed the thought of Ranma out of her head.  True she wouldn't mind dating the Saotome Heir, except for the fact that he was currently engaged to her sister.  Not to mention that if she were to show the slightest amount of interest she could end up the one being forced into marriage instead of Akane.  

She couldn't help but wonder where Ranma was .

At that very moment, Ranma was enjoying his lunch on the roof the school.  Knowing full well that Nabiki wouldn't hesitate to reveal his previous spot to the first person to name a high enough price, he had been forced to find a new eating place.  

His meal was interrupted when he felt something familiar in the air.  An aura he had seemingly been in contact with the past, but he was unable to identify it.  The pony tailed fighter wondered if things would finally start getting interesting around Nerima.

School past uneventful (Though Ranma again fell asleep in class).  Class ended just as it had yesterday , Ranma being harassed by his female classmates and Akane taking off angrily.  This time, to his surprise Nabiki was waiting for him outside the room.

Ranma raised an eyebrow at his fiancée's sister.  "Hey Nabiki.  What's wrong?  Kuno not satisfied wit the information you sold him."

Nabiki gave him a sad expression. "I'm hurt, Ranma.  Do you really think that I would betray your confidence?"  Of course, she hadn't seen the Kendoist all day, but Ranma didn't need to know that.

The two teens walked down the hallway together, though the younger Saotome kept his guard up.  He didn't really trust Nabiki all that much.

"Actually, Ranma," the brown haired girl finally said after a few minutes.  "I must say I'm very curious about you."

"Do tell," was the response.

The Ice Queen of Furinkan High gave Ranma a dangerous look.  "You know it's very rude to hold secrets from the people who are being gracious enough to let you stay in their home."

This did not phase Ranma one bit.  "We all have our secrets, Nabiki."

"Who's Tenma?"

The pony tailed boy didn't flinch.  It was as he feared.  "Been talking to your sister, have you?"

"She's really worried about you, Ranma.  You walk around with your fake smiles and you ego the size of China but it's pretty obvious you've got some major problems."

By this time the two had reached the front doors of the school and preceded to walk outside.  "Tenma…doesn't concern you.  But if you really want to know…" He stopped mid-sentence.  Nabiki wasn't sure if he was trying to get out of telling her because  the look on his face suddenly had become concerned.  He was looking around the field as if he was searching for someone.

"So, it was him after…" was all the boy would say.  He turned back toward Nabiki.  "We'll talk about this some other time."  With that the Chinese clad martial artist began walk at a rather fast pace toward the front gate.  Nabiki, of course, followed him.

There was a boy standing there whom Nabiki did not recognize.   He was about 16 or 17, wore a leopard skin bandana, a yellow sweat shirt, and black kung fu pants similar to Ranma's.  He also held a rather large looking back pack which inferred he was some sort of traveler.

The unknown newcomer snarled when he saw Ranma walking toward him.  "I've finally found you, Ranma Saotome." 

Ranma was wearing his trademark cocky smirk.  "Well, well, well, if it ain't my old punching bag Ryuuga Haboki."

The new comer became enraged.  "That's Ryoga Hibiki, you bastard!  How dare you forget my name! I have been dreaming about ending your life for the last year!  The least you could do is get my name right!" 

Ranma shrugged.  "I almost didn't recognized you.  You've been working out a little I see, lost boy."

It was Ryoga's turn to smile.  "Heh, I've been training non-stop.  This time I'll kill you for sure!"   His smile quickly faded as his anger suddenly took over.  He threw off his back pack that, when it landed, shattered the concrete it hit.  "Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"  

The lost boy rushed at his pony tailed opponent, punching and kicking furiously at a speed that Ranma couldn't dodge all that well.  He simply blocked all the attacks, but he knew that with Ryoga's strength and stamina (Both surpassed his own) he couldn't do this for long.  By this time a crowd had suddenly formed, including Akane who had found her way to where Nabiki stood.  

"What the hell is going on?  Who's that guy that Ranma's fighting?" Ranma's fiancée asked.

Nabiki shook her head.  "I'm not sure, but he and Ranma seem to be old enemies."

Knowing full well that Ryoga was far above the skill level of his newest rival Kuno, the Saotome Heir decided to stop holding back.

"Zanzouken Revised!"  

With that Ranma disappeared leaving an after image of himself.  Ryoga suddenly found himself being surrounded by several blurry red and black images moving at incredible speed.  He had seen this move before.  The boy closed his eyes and concentrated on Ranma's aura.  "There you are!"  He recklessly threw a punch to his direct left connecting with his opponent's face.  The blow seemed to hit Ranma in slow motion as a combination of blood and spit appeared to float in mid air.  The Saotome Heir was sent flying toward the concrete fence.  The pony tailed boy was able to adjust himself so that he landed safely feet first.  But the real damage had already been done.  The crowd's reaction was not surprising.

"Holy shit!  That guy's stronger than Saotome!"

"Did you see those fangs? Maybe he's some kind of vampire."

"Don't be stupid.  It's daylight."

"I'm betting everything on the new guy!"

Ryoga was smirking evilly.  "You idiot.  You've already used that move on me before.  Don't you think I would have figured out to beat it by now."

Ranma was getting worried.  He really was dumb for using that move. He and Ryoga had fought enough times to know that after one sees a move once then it most likely wouldn't work on them anymore.  The pony tailed fighter considered his options.  "I can't beat him with strength.  I can't hope to outlast him. My edge has always been speed, but he's a lot faster than last time.  I guess I'll have to go with my trump card."  With that the boy pulled out the bokken that he had used against Kuno earlier.  He motioned for Ryoga to come on.

The two martial artists went at each other head on, Ranma using the bokken to gain in advantage.  The fought blow for blow going at speeds that most of the students looking on couldn't hope to match.  This went on for almost a half hour.  By this time Ryoga could tell his opponent was running out of steam.  Ranma realized this as well.  He'd have to end it quick or else he's be the one on the losing side.  He have Ryoga a fast snap kick to his stomach, giving him the few seconds he needed to unleash his ultimate attack.

"V-Slash!"

Ryoga took the bokken head on just as Kuno did.  And just like the kendoist he was sent flying several feet away.  The crowd had become ecstatic.  

"Man, it's over!  That's the same move he used to KO Kuno this morning."

"I really thought this new guy had a chance."

"See, I told you!  Saotome is the best at what he does."

No one had noticed that Ranma was still in a defensive stance.  Except for Akane.  "Ranma.  It is over, right?"  She asked.  She had never seen Ranma take a fight so serious before.

Ryoga would answer for her by standing up slowly and obviously hurt.  The entire crowd became deathly silent.  What kind of monster was this Ryoga Hibiki?  "That was nice."  The lost boy smirked as he said this.  "But you're not the only one with a brand new technique." 

Ryoga raised his fist above his head than slammed it into the ground.

"Daijishin Bakuhatsu!"

The ground literally exploded as an invisible ball of chi ripped through the Earth like a hot knife through butter that, at an amazing speed, headed right for an unprepared Ranma.  The pony tailed martial artist had no way to defend against it and was struck as if he was being hit by a speeding bus.  Unable to stand up to such an attack Ranma collapsed.  He had been beaten. 

The crowd was speechless, and was not sure what had happened.   Both Tendo sisters, on the other hand, rushed toward the fallen pony tailed boy.  "Ranma," the younger sister yelled.  The boy in question slowly opened his eyes.  "Shit," was all he said.

Ryoga had by this time walked over to where his defeated foe lay.  Nabiki was staring at the boy with no emotion being shown (Though there was a tiny bit of plotting being done).  Akane on the other hand…

"Stay away the hell back!  Don't you think you've done enough?  You come out of nowhere and attack Ranma without reason!  What kind of martial artist are you?"

Nabiki eyed her sister curiously.  Since when had she started sticking up for Ranma?

Ryoga ignore the girl and offered his hand to Ranma.  "Good match?"

Ranma regarded him for a moment, then to everyone's surprise shook the lost boy's hand.  "Good fight."

The Ice Queen at that moment of, upon looking at the emotions of both fighters put two and two together.  "This guy is your training mate, right? The boy your mother found?"

Akane stared at her sister.  "What do you mean?"

Ranma didn't answer at first. Instead he allowed his old friend to help him to his feet.  "I thought I really had you there."

"You almost did," Ryoga admitted.  " That V-Slash thing almost did me in.  I was running on pride alone after that hit me."

Ranma smiled.  "It's got nothing on that move you did.  That was some kind of chi attack, right."

"Excuse me," Akane said meekly.

"Yep.  It took me a whole month to get down, though."

"Excuse me," Akane repeated.

"I guess I'll have to come up with my own counter attack if I'm gonna beat ya next time."  

"EXCUSE ME!!!"  Akane finally screamed.  "Would somebody please explain what the hell is going on?!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about you guys," Ranma realized.  "This is my training partner and best friend, Ryoga Hibiki."

"Yo," said the bandana clad martial artist.

Nabiki pinched the bridge of her nose. "Wait, if you two are good buddies then what was with the whole 'Ranma prepare to die' stuff he was spitting out."

"It makes the fight more dramatic," Ryoga replied.  He turned to the crowd, who also wanted to know who this person was. "Am I right, guys?"

They all nodded.  It had seemed like the two were bitter rivals, thus the fight had been more interesting.  

After Nabiki collected the money from the students who had bet on Ranma, the four teens found themselves heading back to the Tendo Dojo. Ranma had explained that Ryoga had the worst sense of direction in the world.  However the way he put it was more along the lines of "This idiot couldn't find the door in a bathroom even if you stood there pointing at it."  That caused a brief fight between the two friends.

"So you two both trained on that trip?" Akane asked, hoping to distract the two friends before they found something to fight about. Again.

Ryoga gave her a cocky smile that was all too familiar.  "Yep.  As you can tell I'm the stronger of the two us."

"Screw you, pal," Ranma yelled.  "This is the first time you've beaten me since we were thirteen, ya jerk."

"Anyway, I met Auntie Nodoka when I was six years old."

Ten years ago…

Ryoga Hibiki hadn't seen his parents in months.  They had all gone to the park but each had wandered off and gotten lost.  The child had resorted to anything in order to survive in the harsh reality of life.  Nothing was fair, and anything that could go wrong would.  These are the lessons life had taught him these past few months.

One day, as the little bandana clad boy was digging in some trash cans in an alley looking for something edible he met the person who would change his life.

"Oh my God," she had screamed when she saw him.  She wore a fairly large back pack and held a katana, wrapped in a cloth.  "Please stop. I can buy you something to eat."

Ryoga regarded her.  She was very pretty and was offering him not just a warm smile but a meal as well.  However he hadn't survived this long by being trustful. He simply stepped away from her.

It was then the women noticed his bandana.  "It's just like Natsumi's.  Your mother wouldn't happen to be Natsumi Hibiki, would she?"

"Y-you know mommy?" Ryoga was become hopeful.

The woman reached through her bag and pulled out a photo graph.  It was a pitcher of his mother, though younger, and this woman (And another woman who he didn't recognized).  This woman did know her!

"I see.  You must be lost," she realized.  Ryoga nodded slowly.  "You have inherited Natsumi's sense of direction.  I too am looking for my family.  Perhaps we could look for your parents together."  Ryoga happily agreed.

"In the meantime," she continued.  "I shall take care of you.  My name is Nodoka Saotome, but you may cal me Auntie."

"From then on I traveled with Auntie Nodoka,"  Ryoga said.  He pointed toward Ranma.  "Then I met this stupid jerk about six months later."

"Hey I resent that.  I'm not stupid," was Ranma's reply.  He jokingly punched his friend on the shoulder.

"Did you ever see your parents again?" Nabiki asked.

Ryoga nodded.  "I met up with Mom a few years later.  She agreed that it would be better for me to learn the Anything Goes Style.  I saw her once more a bit more recent.  Dad, too."

"I'm surprised you could find 'em," Ranma said in a mocking tone.  "Let's not forget that you're the guy who got lost for three days in the closet."  

"RANMA!" Ryoga growled as he lunged at his old "friend."      

Nabiki regarded the two.  Ryoga was sure to know about Ranma's secrets, wouldn't he?

Once they arrived at the dojo Nabiki took off, saying she needed to make some phone calls.  Kasumi greeted the group and informed them dinner would be ready shortly.  Upon hearing who Ryoga was she invited the lost boy to stay as long he wanted.  

"Thank you Kasumi-san."  Ryoga politely bowed.

"It's no problem," Kasumi assured him.

"By the way Kasumi," Ranma interrupted.  "Have you've seen pop today?'

The oldest Tendo shook her head, almost angrily.  "He said that the village that he raided from yesterday had been rude to him and he was going back there teach them some manners."

"Stupid old man," Ryoga grumbled. Though he wasn't sure what Kasumi meant, he knew Genma was up to no good.  He held no love for Ranma's father and wouldn't mind if he could introduce him to his new techniques.

As if one cue the griffin in question suddenly floated down to Earth.  He looked a little beat up for some reason.  Before Ranma, Akane or Kasumi could greet the man turned monster Ryoga reacted predictably.

"It's some kind of demon!" The lost boy gasped.  Before anyone could stop him he rushed at the griffin and preceded to beat on him with his massive strength.  "Monster, stand still so I can kill you!"

"Uhh, I guess Ryoga doesn't know about your cursed forms," Akane noted.  "Should we tell him that's your father."

Ranma shrugged.  "What's the point?  He if he knew he'd still attack him.  In fact, Ryoga wouldn't go so easy on him if he knew that was Pop."

As a loud cracking sound was heard from the battle between Ryoga and Genma, Akane shuddered as she wondered what the fanged fighter would do when not "Going easy on him."

To be continued…

Author's Note:  Another Chapter done.  This is longest chapter so far.  I wonder how long I can keep up with this pace before I get a serious case of writers block.  More about Tenma is revealed, but hopefully people still won't be able to guess who he is exactly for at least a couple more chapters.  I seemingly blew it in Ryoga's case.  Speaking of whom I'm sure you've noticed that the lost boy is pretty OOC.  Take in mind he was raised along side Ranma.  His personality is mixture of the two.  Ryoga's rocky relationship with Genma will be addressed more in the next chapter as well as exactly why Ranma's ego allowed him to lose so gracefully.  "Daijishin Bakuhatsu" hopefully means something along the lines of Earthquake Explosion.  "If thou darest tempt me further, draw thy sword" was barrowed from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.  By the way, this week is finals week for me, so don't expect Chapter 4 until at least Friday night.

Revision Note:  Completely deleted Akane's "hidden strength" sub-plot as I forgot where I was going with it.

Next Chapter:  Ryoga gets to know Akane, Nabiki and Ranma hang out a bit more, and rivals who want a piece of the Saotome Clan (As well as their good friend Ryoga) show.


	4. Prelude

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  I had nothing to do with it.  Please do not sue me; I go to college and therefore am broke. 

The Nerima District of Tokyo had often been regarded as a weird place, somewhat dangerous place.  It had just become worse.

Across the street from the Tendo Dojo a bounty hunter was contemplating his next move.  He had tracked down the target to this house.  However if the crime was indeed what the buyer claimed then attacking head one would be suicide.  Despite the danger the ninja who had long forgotten his own name truly wished that Ranma Saotome was as strong as they say.

 It had been far too long since he had been able to unleash all of his abilities. 

**Chapter 4**

**Prelude**

Ranma was dreaming again.  It was the same dream as always.  His mother questioning his manhood while Tenma demanding to know why he killed him.  It had been the same every night for over a year.   However for the last few weeks it had seemed like the dreams had gotten more intense.  

Thankfully (Sort of) the pony tailed fighter found himself suddenly doused by cold water forcing him awake.  The now red headed Ranma shot up from her futon, only to be face to face with a giggling Ryoga.  

"Heh, I wandered around the house for six hours looking for your room but it was worth it."  The bandana clad martial artist was by now laughing uncontrollably.  

Ranma growled at her old friend's evil wake up call.  Looking out the window she saw that it was pre-sunrise and it being Sunday there was no point of being up this early.  She had wanted to sleep in, hoping to recover from the fight the day before.  

It was then Ryoga noticed that there was the empty futon next to his old training partner.  "Where's the old man?"  
Ranma shrugged.  "After you beat the crap out of him the third time last night Pop decided it'd be smart to sleep in a secret place that you wouldn't be able to find which happens to be the roof."  She smiled innocently.

The lost boy shook his head.  "I guess I'll beat on him later.  I have some stuff to show you."  With that the lost boy took off the pack he had been wearing on his back and gently placed it on the floor.  He opened it raveling several strange objects.  "Let's see, magic coffee mug, possessed toy dog, anti perverted ghost charms…"

Ranma raised an eyebrow.  "Where the hell did you get all this stuff?"

Ryoga smiled, raveling his fangs.  "Oh, you know, here and there."  He turned his attention back onto the contents in his bag.  "Ah here is," he said as he pulled a scroll from his pack.

The pony tailed girl questioned the object in her friend's hand.  "What's that?  Some kind of technique?"

The eternal lost boy nodded.  "I came across it during my travels.  It's an insanely strong chi attack when perfected.  The man I got it from was a master of chi attacks and preferred this technique over all the others in his arsenal.  He demonstrated it to me.  The attack left a huge crater, maybe the size of a small town."

 Looking over the scroll, Ranma rolled his eyes.  "Let's see here. 'Shi Shi Hokodan.'  You didn't use this during our fight.  You weren't holding back, were ya?"

Ryoga lowered his head.  "I haven't perfected it yet."  

The younger Saotome began laughing at this.  "You dummy.  Give me the scroll and I'll master it in two days tops."

"It's not that simple," Ryoga spat out.  He was not amused by his old friend's attitude.  "This technique channels its power from a certain emotion:  Depression.  I haven't been able to master it because I haven't been able to get sad enough.  Even with Auntie Nodoka's death in account all I've managed to do is the unperfected version which isn't as strong as the Daijishin Bakuhatsu anyway."

Ranma nodded.  Ryoga's reasoning aside, an attack where you had to be sad in order to use it sounded pretty dumb.  

"Also," her friend continued.  "It's dangerous to the user.  Every person who has mastered this technique killed themselves, and the man who gave me this scroll wasn't far behind either.  It seems that if you use this attack too much the sadness becomes unbearable..."

Ranma finished Ryoga's sentence.  "And the only way to escape the sadness is through death.  Something like that sounds too risky for my taste."  Despite saying this Ranma was seriously considering trying to learn this technique.  It wouldn't be for everyday use, obviously, but if she were to ever fight in a losing battle with high stakes…

The "girl" shrugged the thought off.  "I'm gonna go get some hot water.  After I've changed we might as well spar a bit since you woke me up."  The sun was rising anyway. There was rally no excuse not to.

Kasumi had just finished putting out the plates for breakfast when her family (Plus one bald guest) made their way to the dinning room.

"Good morning, everyone," Kasumi said in her usual cheerful tone.  

"Good morning Kasumi," they all replied.  

Akane, who had skipped her usual morning jog so she could sleep in for a change, looked onto the backyard.  Her fiancé and Ryoga were currently engaged in a sparring match that was no less intense then the usual fights between Ranma and his father.  "Wow, they're really going at it."

Kasumi just shook her head.  "They've been doing this for hours now.  I think it's abut time I call them in."

Genma smiled at what the girl said.  "They've been fighting for hours, eh?  No need to trouble yourself, Kasumi.  I'll be happy to bring them in." He cracked his knuckle for emphasis.  Though he would never admit it out loud, both boys had managed to surpass him.  But a worn out Ryoga would still be easy pickings.  He'd just remind the lost boy who was the master and who was the student.

None of the Tendos bothered to look in the direction of the lawn.

"Boy's it's time for breakfast," they heard the old man say.

"GENMA…DIE!!!  DAIJISHIN BAKUHATSU!!!" Was the reply they heard in Ryoga's voice.  What followed was the sound of a one sided beating that didn't seem to be in the favor Ranma's father.

By this time Ranma had sat down at the table and began digging into the food that was in front of him.  

"Ranma," Akane said uneasily. "Why does Ryoga hate your father so much?"

Not looking away from his plate, Ranma replied "It's because of all the stupid training Pop did to him.  Pop had this old martial arts technique book that he kept trying to use with me, but Mom thought they were too dangerous.  But Pop's a really stubborn griffin. 

"Whenever Ryoga wandered off somewhere Pop would volunteer to look for 'em.  After he found him he'd make him undergo a random technique from the guide.  Unfortunately Pop was too stupid to read the whole book."

At that moment Genma was flung back into the house smacking right into a wall.  Ryoga raced after him. Seeing that the old man wasn't conscious anymore he simply reached into cursed martial artist's gi and removed a book that he had been keep there. He tossed it to Ranma.

The title of the book was "Martial Arts Techniques That You Shouldn't Use" and it was written by some guy named Dave Barry.

Ranma opened the book and read "These techniques are jokes and only insane idiots would even consider trying to learn or teach them."  The pony tailed martial tossed the book aside.

"I'm sure that the training wasn't all that bad," Soun commented.  Genma was his friend and he knew that he wouldn't do anything that would harm one of his students.

Ryoga responded by picking up the book and reciting from it.  "#34, the Art of the Lion Cub's Fist.  Toss subject off side of mountain.  If subject manages to climb backup up toss him/her off again.  Repeat until subject has learned the Lion Club Fist or dies.  Whichever comes first." He paused while he flipped through some more pages.  "#57 The Cat Fist.  Wrap subject with fish sausage.  Then place subject in a pit of starving cats. Repeat process until subject has mastered Cat-Fu."    The lost boy then sat down at his own place at the table and began eating, angrily mumbling at Genma's stupidity.

"He did those techniques and more all before the lost boy over there turned 11," Ranma added for good measured.

The Tendo family looked to where Genma lay.  If he had really forced Ryoga to do such things as a child then perhaps he deserved the constant beatings he received. 

Ranma gave a cheerful smile and happily declared "That was delicious, Kasumi.  Can I have seconds?"

A bit later the pony tailed martial artist had taken off, saying he had things to do.  Nabiki had also left, saying she had planned to do some shopping.  Kasumi was busy with house work, while Soun and Genma had gone off somewhere to make plans for Ranma and Akane's marriage (i.e. they went to find alcohol).  Ryoga and Akane had pretty much been left alone in house.

The lost boy wouldn't admit it, but he was worried that he would wander off somewhere.  So he had Ranma take him to the dojo before he left.   Currently the fanged martial artist was practicing some katas.  Like Ranma, katas helped Ryoga think.

It seemed that Genma wasn't happy of destroying the bandana clad fighter's life, but now with his wife out of the picture, the fat martial artist had begun on his own son.  The old man had taken advantage of Ranma's honorable nature and forced him into, what was no doubt, a drunken promise made years ago. Ranma would indeed go along with this marriage if he was unable to get out it honorably.  That was his greatest flaw in the lost boy's opinion: He was too damn honorable.  It was the same with that Tenma incident…

Ryoga's thoughts were interrupted when Akane suddenly entered the dojo.  She gave him a smile.  "Hey Ryoga."  

He regarded the long haired for moment.  This may be a good way to find an "out" for his old friend.  Never mind the fact that what Ryoga failed to realize was that this marriage was unwanted by Akane as well.

"Hey Akane," Ryoga greeted.  

The long haired girl was dressed in her dogi, so it was doubtful she had just come to talk.  "I was thinking maybe we could spar.  You know, to see how I measure up."  

Ryoga snorted at this.  "Feh, I don't fight girls."

Akane looked at him with a questioning glance.  "Why the hell not?"

"I'll tell you straight; girls are weak.  They're frail and dainty.  They should just stick with what they're good at, like cooking and cleaning."  

Ironically Ryoga would, in a few days, regret suggesting Akane to cook.  For now though he had just mad the mistake of making the youngest Tendo sister. 

She grabbed his collar angrily.  "You sexist jerk!  Ranma's a jerk too but it least he sparred with me."

"Ranma spent most of his time being trained by a woman, so it's understandable that he thinks that way."

"While we're on the subject, what about Ranma's Mom?!  Wasn't she a strong martial artist?!"

"Well, I guess.  I never saw Auntie Nodoka fight all that much.  She never really taught me too much about sword fighting so I rarely saw her skill as a fighter."

Akane's anger suddenly was replaced by curiosity.  She let go of the boy's shirt.  "Is that why you two fight so differently?"

Ryoga raised an eyebrow.  

"I mean," the girl went on.  "I mean Ranma is faster than you and can fight with a sword.  But you're much stronger than he is and don't seem you use any weapons.  You both trained in the same style, I could tell by the stance you were using yesterday, but you fight differently."

The lost boy nodded.  "Well, I'm told I have natural strength and stamina.  My mother once told me it's a family trait.  I guess it makes up for the sense of direction."  He said the last bit with a slightly embarrassed tone.  He blushed a bit before going on.  "I guess the old man noticed this and gave me training that was more geared for my special talents: strength and stamina.  Ranma's faster than me and is better at fighting mid-air, though.  It sorta balances out in a fight."

Akane nodded, understanding the difference.  "Well then," she said as she went into an offensive stance.  "Shall we spar?"

Ryoga rolled his eyes.  "Fine, but don't expect me to hit you."

Like his training partner, the boy had not bothered to take up a stance.

"See ya later, doc."

Dr. Tofu waved goodbye to his pony tailed visitor.  Ranma had come to visit much to the doctor's pleasant surprise.  

A little earlier.

"Yo," Tofu had heard from the waiting room.

"Hello, Ranma," he said to the young martial artist.  "Is there anything wrong?  Any injuries?"

"Nope," was the cheerful response.  "It's a social visit.  Well, sort of."

The kindly doctor gave an equally cheerful smile. "Well, why don't I make us some tea and we can chat for a bit."  He wasn't that busy, business was a bit slow today, and he did enjoy the boy's company.

A bit later the two were enjoying some tea in the doctor's office.

Tofu was the first to talk.  "So Ranma, what can I do for you?"

"Well, initially I came to say hello. But I did have a favor to ask."

Tofu narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.  

Ranma either didn't notice or didn't care. "I'm looking for a job."

The young doctor relaxed.  "Oh I see.  I was in fact looking for an assistant to help around the office.  I wouldn't be able to pay you much I'm afraid."

Ranma shrugged.  "Don't worry about that, Doc.  I'll do it for free."

Tofu lifted an eyebrow.  "For free?  Ranma, I couldn't let you…"

The pony tailed boy cut him off.  "I guess it wouldn't be free, exactly.  In return I thought you could teach me some shiatsu techniques.  I'm already pretty much the best, but I'm kinda lacking in that area."

 Tofu smiled.  "I think we can arrange something."

The doctor headed back into his office.  Ranma Saotome really was an interesting subject.  He knew the boy had a great destiny of head him.  The doctor just wondered if he would be able to get a glimpse of it before he had to leave Nerima forever.  It wouldn't be for a while, he predicted. However in the meantime he could use this opportunity to point the pony tailed youth in the right direction.  

Things were going Dr. Tofu's way.  Now if only he could talk to Kasumi without acting like a maniac.  

Not far from the clinic Ranma, who wasn't going anywhere in particular, suddenly stopped.  "Come out already.  It's not like you could hide from me, ya know."

From an alley Nabiki slowly walked out onto the side walk.  "I guess it's useless to try to hide from a guy who claims he can sense people's auras."

"Actually I saw you following me a few blocks after I left the house," Ranma bragged.  "You need to be more discreet if you wanna to sneak by a martial artist of my caliber."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. Ranma was as cocky as ever.

The pony tailed youth smiled at his fiancée's sister.  "Hey, since we're both out why don't I treat ya to lunch.  Maybe you'll be able to trick me into telling you all my secrets.  I mean I'm juts a dumb jock, right?"

It was Nabiki's turn to smile.  She admitted that she had underestimated Ranma a few days ago, but strangely she found herself not all that upset about being wrong.

Ryoga looked over at an exhausted Akane who was lying on the floor.  He had dodge and blocked all of her attacks for roughly an hour. She had tired herself out, but the lost boy was just bored.  Though he noticed that Akane was much stronger than he predicted she'd be.  Of course she was no near his league in terms of strength, or even Ranma for that matter, but still much stronger than a girl should be..  

Ryoga decided to pay her the compliment.  "You may be slow, but you're pretty strong.  Kind of like a gorilla."  Perhaps Ryoga should work on his complimentary skills.

Akane's energy suddenly returned as she punched the boy right in the face with peed and power she had not shown earlier.  "YOU JERK!" She cried as she sent Ryoga into the wall.  

The bandana clad fighter slowly picked himself up.  "You tomboy, why'd you have to hit a guy like that?"

Akane's eye was twitching. "Do they just train you guys to be jerks or what?  Is there some technique that you and Ranma learned that made you tactless?"

Ryoga didn't answer as the dojo door suddenly flung open.  Time itself froze.  A cloaked figured slowly walked in.  Even Akane could feel the anger and sadness that seemed to surround this person.  

The cloaked figure smiled, not that Ryoga or Akane could tell.  "That broad in at the front door said you were here, but I guess deep down I just couldn't really believe it.  It's been a long time, Ryoga Hibiki." 

The lost boy raised an eyebrow.  "Do I know you, mysterious cloaked man with a wish for vengeance?"

This set the new arrival off.  "You bastard, I've spent years preparing to send you to hell!  The least you could do is remember my name!"

For some reason Ryoga felt like her had heard this speech before, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where.  He shrugged it off for the moment.  "Umm, maybe I'd know who you were if you removed the black cloak."

The figure froze.  He had forgotten he had the thing on!  He slowly removed it revealing a brown spiky haired, handsome boy wear a sleeve less tattered school vest and jeans.  He seemed to be a street punk of some sort.  "How about now?"

Ryoga didn't move.  He thought about it for a while.  

"Well," Akane said impatiently.

Ryoga was at this point thinking extremely hard.  He looked like his head was going to explode.

"Don't strain you brain, Ryoga," the girl joked.

The angry spiky headed boy was shocked.  "Y-you don't remember?"  If Ryoga had forgotten him would that mean that he had wasted the past four years of his life?

Ryoga gave an apologetic smile.  "Sorry," was all he could think to say.

Akane looked at her fiancé's friend.  She inwardly made a comment about his lack of intelligence.

"My name is Kenji Arashii," spiky head yelled.  "And four years ago you ruined my life!"

Four years ago

Ryoga had gotten lost on his way to lunch.  Ranma had forgotten to come by his class room to guide him to the cafeteria so he had to find it on hi sown.  The lost boy had been wandering for hours and still no sign of the cafeteria.  In fact he believed he was outside.  "Wait a second…this isn't my campus."

Indeed it seemed that he had mistakenly wandered onto another campus.  Thankfully it wasn't too far from where he and the Saotomes were staying so hopefully he could find his way home within a week.

Just as he turned to leave he noticed some spiky haired kid beating on some other, weaker looking children.  Ryoga became angry, because if there was one thing he hated it was someone picking on the weak.

"Hey, you spiky haired shit head!"  Ryoga yelled at the bully.  "If you wanna fight someone, fight me!"

Kenji smirked as he saw this cocky punk challenging him.  He was the top fighter in town and it was laughable that anyone would try to mess with him.  "Heh, you think you can take me on?  Dumbass, I'll kick the shit the outta ya!"  

The fight had lasted about five seconds.  Ryoga won.

This scene repeated itself for a few weeks as Ryoga asked Ranma if they could swing by there every day on the way to and from school.  And everyday Ryoga would kick the crap out of him for bullying some poor kid.  

"Everyday that punk would stick his nose in my business!  No one would take me serious after that!  They kept calling me 'The guy who gets his ass kicked by that kid with no sense of direction.'  It got so bad I had to challenge that jerk to a real fight.  But he never showed."

Akane looked at Ryoga with a questioning glance.  "Umm, I got lost."

Kenji spat.  "Shut up!  Now that I've finally found you I'm gonna kick you ass!"  

He dashed at his opponent only to find himself connected to Ryoga's fist to his face.  He fell backwards unconscious.  

The lost boy sadly sighed.  "He was just street punk.  That was way too easy."

Akane eyed the defeated Kenji.  After all that talk he went down with one punch.  "It's just like Ranma with Kuno," she thought.

Ryoga was about to pick up the boy when again the dojo door opened up.  Standing in the doorway was a short, shy looking boy.  He was holding a gigantic sword that seemed way too big for him.

"Excuse me," he said to the fanged martial artist.  "Are you Ryoga Hibiki?"

The lost boy wasn't sure how to answer that.  "Umm…yeah."

"I see," the boy looked a bit sad.  His expression didn't change as he suddenly pointed his large sword in Ryoga's direction.  "I'm sorry, but now I must kill you."

Ryoga pinched the bridge of his nose.  "Right. Of course you do."

Meanwhile, at a restaurant in downtown Nerima, Ranma was currently treating his finance's sister to what would be considered a date.  And of course that would be considered cheating.

They had engaged in small talk for while.  After they were half way done with their meal Nabiki finally brought up the subject of Tenma.

"Wow, it only took you about a half hour before you could bring that up," Ranma had said cheerfully.  He gave her a thumbs up.  "Nice control."

Nabiki rolled her eyes.  "Saotome, you have been avoiding this topic ever since Kasumi first brought it up.  Can't you at least give me some clues?'

Ranma became serious.  He closed his eyes and crossed his arms "Tenma is my business.  Just forget about him."  

This was a rare sight, to see Ranma drop his front.  She felt something inside the pony tailed boy.  It was a deep sadness.  She didn't understand how she could know that, but she definitely decided she liked the happy Ranma opposed to the sad Ranma.

The Ice Queen thought that a subject change was in order.

"So Ranma," she began.  "Do you really have any intention of marrying my sister?"

The boy quickly put came back to himself.  "Not if I can help it. But honor demands that I marry Akane.  If I could find someway to honorably escape it I'd jump at the chance."

Nabiki gave him a cold smile.  "Well Ranma, I happened to have an idea that could get you out of the engagement and still retain your honor."

Ranma perked up.  "Tell me."

The mercenary girl held out her palm.  "20,000 yen."

The pony tailed boy fell from his chair.  He should have seen that coming.  Picking himself up, he reached into his pocket and removed the roll of cash he carried around.  Without blinking or showing signs of remorse the boy handed over the money.  

Nabiki was a bit surprised that Ranma could part with 20,000 yen so easily.  It led to believe he had even more money somewhere which only made him more interesting.  "Well Saotome, it's really simple.  It seems the agreement that my daddy and your daddy signed doesn't imply marriage."

Ranma lifted an eyebrow.  "Really?"

The girl nodded.  "It seems that the deal was only to unite the schools.  A marriage between you and Akane that produces an heir would be one way of doing this.  However there is another way that you can unite the schools."

The Chinese clothed boy had begun to catch on.  "One of us could learn the other school's style!"

Nabiki winked at her current client.  "See, simple.  But since Daddy hasn't been stable enough to be a sensei in years and Akane doesn't have the patients to teach someone I guess you'll have to teach my dear little sister the way of the Saotome School."

Ranma was ecstatic.  "That is brilliant!  Normally girls shouldn't undergo the training, but your sister becomes freakishly strong when she's angry.  I'm sure she can survive it."  The boy then began laughing uncontrollably.

The brown haired girl began to wonder if telling him was such a great idea.

A giant of a man who was dressed as a sumo was now facing Ryoga in the dojo.  The building itself was a mess.  Not surprising as several martial artist with a reason for beating up Ryoga had shown up throughout the day.  This man before him claimed his life went to hell because Ryoga beat him in an arm wrestling contest six years ago.

"Ryoga Hibiki, prepare to die," the sumo yelled as he came at the lost bow with a barrage of open palm fist strikes.  Ryoga was able to dodge them all, though not with the same grace that Ranma would have used.  Eventually the lost boy grew tired of this game.  He leapt up, delivering a snap kick to the giant sumo which knocked him on his back causing the ground to shake furiously.  

The bandana clad fighter dusted off his hands before going back to picking up his opponent and dragging him outside. "How many is that?"  He asked Akane who had been watching from the sideline.

"That was number seven," she sighed.  "Just how many people out there want to kill you?"

Ryoga smiled.  "More than seven."  The lost boy had beaten them all without half trying.  "This sort of thing happens to me all the time."

As Ryoga tossed the sumo over the fence that surrounded the yard Kasumi appeared from within the house. 

Her cheerful smile had not left her face even when some of the guest she brought to the dojo told her they were here to kill Ryoga.  "Have you two seen Mr. Saotome?"

Both teens shook their heads.

"That's too bad, since it seems that our latest guest is looking for him," the older girl sighed.

A large bearded man, with long flowing hair and wearing strange armor walked out of the house behind the oldest Tendo Sister.  He had a fairly large sword strapped to his back.  "Bwahahahaha!  My name is Kabato, a wandering warrior.  However my enemies call me Kabato the Blade!  I come from a small village that, within the last two days, was attacked and raided by a monster known as a griffin."

Ryoga lowered his head.  Genma seemed to only get worse.

Kabato the Blade continued.  "The devil made the mistake of attacking while I, Kabato the Bade, was visiting my mother.  I gave the creature a beating with my immense strength and now I've tracked the it here.  I, Kabato the Blade, will finish the job.  Bwahahahaha!"

All three listeners felt the need to walk always from this man.  Ryoga however decided to add a little gas to the fire.

"You know," the lost boy began.  "That griffin monster can take the form of a bald, fat martial artist who wears glasses.  He's not here right now, but I bet if you came back later you'll find him."

Kabato the Blade eyes widen.  "Is that true?  Does the beast take on human form?  Bwahahahaha, the creature has been hiding from me. But fear not! I, Kabato the Blade, shall destroy it before it attacks again. With that I am off!"

And so he was.  He leapt over the fence from where he was standing and took off looking to defeat the dreaded griffin.   

Akane gave Ryoga a dirty look.  "Do you think it was right to tell that man about Mr. Saotome's curse?"

Ryoga shrugged.  "Genma can take care of himself.  The worse that can happened is that Kabato guy kills him.  Wait, that's the best case scenario.  Bwahahahaha!"

After laughing like that both Tendo sisters quickly left the boy alone in the yard.  A rain cloud seemed to appear over the head the youth and drowse him.  "Lonely," was all he could say.

Tatewaki Kuno had been MIA for about a day or so.  Some people believed he had been killed by Ranma (Though the same people didn't seem to care enough to call the police).  However the kendoist had gone in to hiding to reflect on his latest battle with the pony tailed boy.  Today he had decided to face him after much thought.  As he made his way to the Tendo dojo he saw a large bearded man run in a random street yelling something about griffins, waving his sword around, and laughing uncontrollably.  

Kuno gave the man a weird look.  "Delusional fool."

With that he made his way toward the Tendo Dojo.  Upon reaching his destination he didn't bother knocking on the door.  He was Tatewaki Kuno after all.  Instead he leapt over the fence landed gracefully on the yard (Thunder could be heard in the distance).  He looked around seeing only Ryoga who was still sad about being left alone.

"You there," Kuno yelled.  "I know not why you have seen it fit to stand in the yard of the fair Akane Tendo, but since I have come on business I shall let you live for now.  Thank the gods that Blue Thunder had spared you this day."

The lost boy stared blankly at the new arrival.

Kuno went on.  "I am Tatewaki Kuno, age 17.  No doubt you have heard of me.  I have come searching for Ranma Saotome.  Where is he?"

Ryoga felt a bit relieved.  This nut was here for Ranma and not him.  He had had enough people coming over to kill him for one day.  "Ummm, he went out a while ago.  I don't know when he'll be back."

Kuno made not expression when he heard this.  "I see.  I suppose he'll be at school tomorrow.  I shall see him then."  With that the kendoist turned to leave.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a familiar voice.  "Upperclassman?  What are you doing here?"

Kuno turned back to see Akane standing at the entrance to the Tendo home.  His expression lifted slightly.  "My love…"  He quickly turned his back on the girl, for he could not say this to her face.  "Dear Akane Tendo…it pains me to say this, but I am no longer worthy of you."  Before the youngest Tendo could respond the self proclaimed "Blue Thunder" dashed away, too ashamed to be in her presence any longer.

Ryoga looked at his friend's fiancé.  "Who was that?"

Akane shrugged.  "He's a guy from school who Ranma beats up everyday.  He claims to be in love with me and he views Ranma as a threat."

"So this guy wanted to pick a fight?"

The dark haired girl thought about for a second.  "I don't think so.  Kuno is a kendoist and doesn't use hand to hand martial arts.  But juts now he wasn't carrying a bokken."

Finally, after hanging out the whole day downtown, Nabiki and Ranma had returned to the dojo.  It was about time for dinner.  The two seemingly got along very well.

As the approached the back door Ranma summoned up all his courage in order to say the following.  "Hey Nabiki, today was fun.  You think that, you know, since this engagement thing may be taken care of pretty soon that maybe we can go out on a real date sometime."  It wasn't as if the pony tailed martial artist hadn't asked a girl out before, but truthfully they had been few and far between.  

Nabiki smiled.  "Saotome, you couldn't afford a real date with me."

Ranma was about to come up with a snappy come back when all his senses suddenly became focused on a loud explosion from a block or so away.  The pony tailed martial artist turned toward where the blast had taken place.  He instantly realized that was a mistake as he suddenly, yet briefly felt someone pass him from behind.  Turning back to where Nabiki had been standing he found his fiancée's sister gone.  

"So we meet at last, Ranma Saotome." 

Ranma lifted his head to see Nabiki being held captive by a man dressed as a ninja (With a mask covering up his face).  He held a long knife across the girl's neck.  The Chinese clothed fighter wouldn't be able to reach the newcomer fast enough to save his friend.  It became clear that the explosion was some sort of distraction.

Ranma eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?  Some rival who couldn't take a loss?"  

The ninja shook his head.  "This is our first meeting.  You don't look like much.  Not worth the price that's on your head."

The pony tailed martial artist would have gasped if he wasn't so angry.  "Bounty hunter?"

The ninja nodded.  "I have no name, but I'm a world class bounty hunter.  Some people have called me 'Sin'.  You may call me this if you wish."

"What a stupid name," Ranma thought.  

By this time Ryoga, Soun and Akane come out to investigate the loud noise they had just heard.  What they found was Nabiki's life on the line.  The girl was desperately trying not to scream, fearing that this crazy person may get excite and slit her throat.

Soun just lost it when he saw his daughter in danger.  "What's the meaning of this?!"

"What are you doing with sister?!" Akane added, just as upset as her father.

Ranma was angry as well, but he was trying to keep a cool head.  "If you're after me why hold Nabiki?"

Sin smiled, though through his mask it was hard to see it.  "You see Ranma; I was told that you were an amazing enemy.  It's been a long time since I've had a half way decent fight."  He drew Nabiki closer to his body.  "I've seen you with this one.  I know she's your woman.  If you want to save her then you'll need to beat me.  Hopefully if you're angry you'll give me a work out.   I'll take that head of yours, Saotome.  Count on it"

Ranma became deathly silent.  He wasn't even breathing.

"Midnight, at the junkyard," the ninja continued.  "One minute later and I'll kill her.  Come alone."  

With that Sin took off leaving Ranma, Ryoga, and the Tendos stunned. 

Soun, enraged, grabbed the collar of the pony tailed martial artist.  "Ranma, what have you've gotten my little girl into?!"

The young martial artist gave the older man a sorrowful look.  "I'm not sure myself, Mr. Tendo."  Ranma forced himself free from Soun's grasp.  His aura became visible.  It was like he was burning with a terrible anger.

He didn't know who this "Sin" person was, but he wouldn't forgive him for pulling innocents into a fight they had nothing to do with.

In another part of Tokyo, inside in expensive pent house in one of the fanciest hotels in Japan, a blonde gaijin woman was silently sipping a cup of tea.  She smiled as she thought about her love.  Oh how happy he would be when he learned he she had come all the way to Japan for him.  She would take him back with her to England, they would be married, and live happily ever after.  Of course for this to happen Ranma Saotome would have to die.

The moon would be full tonight.  A moon lit night; that was indeed the proper time to die.  Ranma should be thankful.

High in the air, not terribly far from Tokyo, a creature was also plotting the downfall of a certain pony tailed martial artist. 

"When I find those two bastards," it thought.  "I'm gonna beat the living shit of them, laugh, beat on them again, laugh some more, then toss their bodies off the side of a cliff.  That'll teach them to mess with Pantyh…er, I mean me."

On the outskirts of Tokyo yet another person with a grudge against Ranma stood over an unsuspecting city.  The young, long haired martial artist had been preparing for months for the inevitable meeting between himself and the devil who had caused him such pain.  Because of that monster he had truly seen hell.  That is if he _could see. _

To be continued…

Author's Note:  Okay, I know I said that Chapter 2 sucked and reviewers told me they thought it was good.  However I am certain that this chapter was as crappy as crap can be.  It's basically nothing more then a set up for the next chapter so that's my excuse.  Anyway, this chapter hopefully answered some of the points brought up in the reviews.  On the subject of Akane; of course Ranma is stronger than her.  However Ranma's reaction was the product of two things:  He got cocky and sloppy.  Had he had taken it seriously his arm wouldn't have gotten hurt.  Also In the manga and the anime when Akane gets really pissed Ranma tends to get hurt regardless of how much stronger and faster than he is.  I decided to play around with that, though I'm not sure where I'm going with it yet.

What's up with Kuno?  And Dr. Tofu?  Don't think about too much since I'm not going to explain it for a while.  

Don't expect to see those random fighters that showed up for Ryoga's hide again.  Though Kabato the Blade may show up from time to time.  

Finally, I must say I'm very happy to have gotten such great reviews for this story.  Thank you for your support!

Revision Note: Cleaned it up a bit and cut out the subplot regarding Akane's hidden strength.  As of now that aspect of the story no longer exist

Next Chapter:  The shit hits the fan.  Nabiki has been kidnapped.   Ranma races off to find her, however two (Serious) rivals arrive just in time to mess up the rescue plan.


	5. Beneath the Moon so Bright

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  I had nothing to do with it.  Please do not sue me; Money doesn't grow on trees, ya know! 

However, the original characters that appear in the story were created by me.  How do you like dem apples?

The sun had set hours ago.  The moon was the only source of light for the streets of Nerima.  On these streets three women were currently tracking someone whom their people had deemed the fiercest of enemies.  

"This is the town, right Lotion?" asked the fairly young pink haired girl who seemed to be the leader of the group.

Her light, blue haired companion simply nodded.  She was older than the other two, who seemed to still be in their teens.  Lotion, as she was called, looked around 24 or so.

The other girl, a short blonde, looked back at her current leader.  Her fists were clenched and her face read of someone who had lost everything dear to her.  "So when we find him we kill him?"

The leader promptly slapped the back of the head of her comrade.  "If you recall, Elder Cologne gave us specific instructions to watch, not engage.  You know what he's capable of, Soap."

The blond lost her temple at this.  "Of course I know!  I was there, damn it!  I saw what that monster did to our sisters!  I swear by the ancestors that I'll be the one to end his life!  Where were you when he killed our friends and family?"

The leader didn't have the chance to answer as she was cut off by Lotion.  "There he is."

Soap began looking around furiously.  "What? Where?"

Lotion pointed to a nearby roof top.  Running across was none other then Ranma Saotome.  Not stopping to notice the trio the pony tailed boy leapt unto the next roof in the direction of the old junkyard.

The leader gasped.  "That's him?" She had expected a brute of a man, not a handsome boy her age.

The older woman frowned when she saw the girl's expression.  "Don't forget who he is and what he has done, Comb."

Comb's face became stern.  "I know that.  We'll follow." Her eyes looked straight at Soap.  "But we will not fight him.  Not yet." 

**Chapter 5**

**Underneath the Moon so Bright**

A few hours earlier, at the Tendo Dojo.

The remaining Tendos, Genma, Ryoga as well as Ranma were all sitting at the dining room table.  Kasumi had prepared tea for them as they discussed the abduction of Nabiki.  The middle Tendo sister had been kidnapped by a bounty hunter who called himself "Sin."  Despite the laughable title he had given himself the man was seemingly a skilled ninja.  He had come to Nerima to find Ranma.  According to Sin, the pony tailed boy had a price on his head.  Confusing Nabiki as Ranma's girlfriend the ninja had taken her as some sort of motivator for the boy to fight with all his power.

An hour had passed since then.  Everyone had calmed down by now (Much to Ranma's delight as he had become the victim of Soun's "Demon Head Attack").  By now they had begun to understand just what they were dealing with and started to formulate strategy.

Akane had been the first to blame Ranma for this mess.  "What exactly did you do to have a bounty put on your head?"

Ranma shook his head.  "Nothing, as far as I know.  But I've been around, you know.  Maybe I pissed off some rich guy and he put out a bounty on me as a means of revenge."

Ryoga shook his head.  "We all know what really caused this.  Obviously Genma stole something, got caught, and used Ranma as a bargaining chip.  Now the guy wants to collect."  He put the fat martial artist in an aggressive head lock.  "Spill it, old man!  Who did you sell Ranma to?"

"It wasn't me, I swear," Genma choked.  "I don't remember selling Ranma to any rich people!"

Ryoga strengthen his hold.  "Aha!  So you admit that you've sold Ranma in the past!"

"BE QUEIT, THE BOTH YOU!!!"

Both martial artists turned to an irate Soun.  He had grown impatient at their bickering.  "My little girl is out there somewhere, crying in pain."

Soun-o-Vision

Sin: Now you're all mine!

Nabiki: Eek!  Stay away!

Sin: I'll have my way with you and then kill you, just like in all those TV              dramas!

Nabiki: Daddy, where are you?!

Soun began wailing and crying, seemingly losing his sanity at his own imagination.  He stood up and started running around the house screaming Nabiki's name.

Kasumi gave Ranma a meek smile.  "It would seem that Father will not be helping you rescue Nabiki."

The pony tailed martial artist shrugged.  "Sin said to come alone, right?  I'll be going there on my own."

Both Akane and Ryoga raised an eyebrow at this.  The youngest Tendo girl spoke first.  "What do you mean?  I'm going too."

Ranma shook his head.  "I don't think so.  Sin may kill Nabiki if he sees that I came with help.  Besides, you'd only get in the way."

Akane nearly exploded.  "What?!  I'm a martial artist too, ya know!"

"I know that, but I don't want to have to worry about you too.  I don't know how strong this 'Sin' guy is, but I'm confident that I can handle it alone."

Akane wasn't really satisfied, but she had calmed down.  "Your ego is going to get you killed."

Ranma's trademark grin appeared on his face.  "Ranma Saotome can't be killed."  With that he stood up and headed toward the stairs.  He stopped suddenly and turned his head in the direction of Ryoga.  "That goes for you too."

The lost boy eyes widen.  "What?  Hey wait a second!"  He stood up and dashed after his old friend, desperately praying he didn't get lost at this crucial moment.  

Ranma faced his mother's sword, which sat upon the mantle he had set up in the guest room.  For what seemed like hours he simply starred at it.  Finally he muttered in a soft tone barely over a whisper "Not yet."

"What's the big idea telling me I can't come?"  The words of Ryoga Hibiki interrupted the pony tailed boy's train of thought.  He looked over at the door way to see the boy standing there.  The bandana clad fighter had gotten lost trying to follow Ranma but thankfully found the guest room of the Tendo home relatively easy.  "I can understand Akane; she's just a living target, but what about me?  We've done this kind of thing lots of times."

The Chinese clothed boy wore a serious expression.  "I'm doing it alone.  Your help is not desired.  I'll save Nabiki with my own two hands"

Ryoga eyes narrowed.  "Why are you making this so personal?  Do you love this chick?  Did you fall for her while you've been living here?"

Ranma expression betrayed no emotion; however Ryoga knew he had somehow touched the boy with what he said.  "It's not that," the pony tailed boy responded.  "It's just that…I'm sick of people getting killed because of me!  I won't let anyone else die because I was too weak to save them!"

The lost boy finally understood.  He shook his head in disbelief.  "You still blame yourself for Tenma."

Ranma could not hold back his emotions anymore.  Tear began pouring from his eyes.  "I couldn't save him.  He's dead because I was too weak to save him.  Mom's dead because I couldn't save her!  Everyone who I care about die!"

Ryoga's face became stern.  "First of all there was nothing you or I could have done to save Auntie Nodoka.  Second of all there is no reason for you to mourn Tenma.  He wasn't even human!  He was a shadow, not a person!  Besides if he had lived he would've just caused trouble.  If not for us than someone else."

"Don't give me that!  He had thoughts and dreams just like anyone else.  So what if he was born differently?  So what if he was misguided?  He didn't deserve to die!"

There was a long silence.  Neither boy dared speak another word; they simply starred at on another.  Finally Ranma spoke.  "I'm going.  I'll be back soon with Nabiki."

Ryoga sighed, but stepped out of the way.  His friend walked past him, not saying a word.  The lost boy did notice that Ranma was caring a bokken rather then his mother's sword.  He shrugged it off, not putting much thought to it.  

As the pony tailed boy stepped out of his room he saw Kasumi standing out in the hallway, her head lowered trying to hide her expression.  "Umm…I heard you two in there.  I'm sorry but I couldn't really help myself."

Ranma sighed, but kept calm.  "Well there you go.  Tenma is someone I let die a year ago.  Does it sicken you to have a murderer living in your house?"

The oldest Tendo sister raised her head and met Ranma's gaze.  It was the first time the pony tailed boy had really looked at the older girl's eyes.  "I…I don't believe that you are capable of such an act."

The Saotome heir starred blankly at the girls, but didn't get a chance to respond as Kasumi continued.  "I believe that you are a kind person who wouldn't hurt someone unless you had to.  I've seen how you act around the house when you think no one is looking.  You're in constant suffering.  You're filled with pain and regret.  These are not the traits of a killer, Ranma."

The pony tailed boy showed no emotions at Kasumi's words.  He simply walked past her, not making eye contact again.  As reached the stairway the girl added "Please bring Nabiki home safely."

Hearing this Ranma turned back toward the girl.  He smiled warmly and said "Don't worry."  With that the young martial artist left the Tendo home.

Nabiki Tendo was not a fighter.  She had given up her father's art many years ago.  She knew the very basics but nothing more.  Though every few months she would wish had kept at it.  Usually this was when some jock refused to pay her money he had lost in some bet.  Had she been a strong martial artist she could easily extort the money from the guy through violent means.  Today was one of the times she wished she didn't forsake the Anything Goes School.  At that moment the Ice Queen was starring death right in the face and she was totally defenseless against it.

They were at the junkyard, just as the ninja called "Sin" had told Ranma earlier that night.  Nabiki found herself tied to a random piece scrap metal as her kidnapper stood a few feet from her starring at the moon.  

She was growing impatient.  "You know, this doesn't really have anything to do with me.  I'm not sure what you think you saw earlier but Saotome and I aren't a couple."

Sin did not even look at her.  "Regardless of whether or not you believe that, Ranma Saotome seems to care about your well being.  The look in his eyes as I held you were burning with rage.  I'm sure he'll give me the fight I've been waiting for."

Nabiki kept her calm, though she did momentarily wonder if what he said was true.  She decided, as a means to pass the time, question him about the bounty he claimed was on Ranma's head.  "So why are you so hot to catch Ranma anyway?  What's this bounty about?"

Sin surprisingly turned to face his prisoner.  Though it was hard for Nabiki to see through his black mask, the ninja was smiling.  "How well do you think you know your friend?"

She was about to answer positively though she hesitated.  She knew a good amount about Ranma, but there was still much he wasn't telling her.

Sin laughed when she didn't speak.  "You may think that I am an evil man for doing all this, however it is your friend who is the real monster.  Have you ever heard of the Amazon Tribe in China?"

A chill went up Nabiki's spine as she nodded.  Ranma had told her that an amazon had killed his mother.  

"During the last two months your friend has been dubbed the Demon of Joketsuzoku!  The unstoppable powerhouse that single handily wiped out the amazons and burned their village to the ground!"

That village had the same name as the one Ranma had described to her.  Despite that she didn't buy it.  Ranma didn't seem to be the type of guy who would (Or could for that matter) destroy a whole village.  

Though he did have a motive.

Sin turned his back on the girl.  "It'd hard to believe that a single man could defeat the entire amazon force alone.  I don't completely believe it myself.  None the less the surviving amazons shortly after the attack offered their entire treasury to the warrior who could bring Saotome down."

Sin paused a bit before he went on.  "But the real reason I took the job is because I want to test my skills.  In all my days training in the martial arts I have never had a rival who could challenge me.  I became a bounty hunter in the hopes of finding worthy foes.  Can Ranma give me that fight?"

Nabiki remained silent.  When she didn't respond Sin went on.  "In about one minute we'll find out.  He has arrived earlier than I told him too.  He must be anxious to fight."

In the distance, within the darkness, a pony tailed shadow was quickly approaching

Meanwhile back at the Tendo home things had become quiet.  Ranma had left, Soun and Genma had drowned themselves in alcohol and Kasumi had gone on as if things were normal.  She was currently in her room.  Akane had decoded this was the perfect time to sneak out to the junkyard.  Ranma didn't know it yet but he would need her help (At least that's how Akane saw it).  The youngest Tendo sister had silently moved through the house without being noticed.  "Heh, I would have made a pretty good ninja myself," she silently whispered.

"Where am I now?" She heard a familiar voice ask from within the darkness.

Both Ryoga and Akane found themselves facing each other.

"What the hell are you doing?" The both demanded.

"I'm going to help Ranma!"  Both responded.

Ryoga started giggling.  "Yeah right.  How are you going to help Ranma when you can't even touch him in a sparring match?"

Akane growled at what the lost boy said.  "Well, what about you?!  From what Ranma told us about you it would take you a week to find the junkyard!"

Both martial artists said nothing for a while before they said in unison "Maybe we can help each other out."

 With that Akane began leading Ryoga down the fastest route to the junkyard.

It wasn't hard for Ranma to find the place.  He was early, but he didn't feel that he needed to obey that jerk's demand.  He'd beat the snot out of the guy, rescue Nabiki, and get home well before breakfast.

Upon arriving on the scene Ranma saw that Nabiki had been tied up and, strangely enough, Sin was standing out in the open.  The pony tailed fighter was sure his opponent would try to get set up some sort of trap.  

"You're early," Sin stated.

Ranma shrugged.  "Yeah well, I got a test in the morning and can't stay out late tonight."

Sin frowned at the boy's sense of humor.  "You should take this seriously.  I am not a foe to be taken lightly."

Ranma smiled his cocky grin.  "Heh, you obviously don't know Ranma Saotome."

The ninja pulled out dual a long sword from seemingly nowhere and pointed it directly at the boy.  "I know you better then you think, Ranma the Demon of Joketsuzoku!"  With that, Sin dashed at the boy such blinding speed that Nabiki could not keep up with as she looked on.

The pony tailed boy but however wasn't too impressed by this.  As the ninja kept slashing his weapon Ranma easily dodge with little or no effort.

Sin grew angry at this display.  "Don't underestimate me!"  Ranma suddenly found himself being attacked with too sword, both moving at much faster speed.   The Chinese clad martial artist was still able to doge but this time he just barley managed to escape being sliced to pieces by the ninja's attacks.  

Ranma was able to leap back giving himself some room.  At that time the boy had realized that his shirt and pants legs had been torn.  Not only that, the Saotome Heir quickly felt his beloved pony tailed with his hand finding it to have had its tip cut off.

Sin evilly laughed as his opponent became distressed over his inability to dodge of the ninja's attack.  "Do you understand now, Ranma?  Not only have I mastered the art of the ninja, but I have also integrated the Hidden Weapon Style into my fighting technique."

Nabiki had suddenly become worried.  She had assumed, just as Ranma had, that her sister's fiancé would easily dispense of Sin; however it seemed that the ninja was too strong.

Both Sin and Nabiki found themselves shocked to see Ranma laughing loudly.  "I admit 'Sin', you're better than I thought.  But let's see how high and mighty you are after I stop playing around."  

With that, the pony tailed boy suddenly vanished in a blur, appearing right behind the ninja.  Sin had no time to react as the boy delivered a swift kick to his back sending him crashing into a pile of car parts.   The bounty hunter climbed out from underneath the heavy mercenary, hurting badly, only to find Ranma giving him the "victory" sign and smiling confidently.

The ninja, enraged, leapt at the boy using the same technique as earlier:  A barrage of insanely quick sword swipes.  This time Ranma was ready for it.  He drew his bokken and surprisingly was able to block each attack without even damaging the wooden sword at all.  Jumping over the last slash, the pony tailed boy landed gracefully several feet from his opponent.  

"C'mon, I'm sure you can beat me if ya try harder," the boy mocked as he pointed his bokken directly at the ninja.

Sin responded by hurling a massive amount of knifes (Though oddly enough he did not seem to have them a second ago) at the pony tailed martial artist.  Unfazed, Ranma managed to dodge them all with little effort.  The bounty hunter had run out of ideas.  He had sorely underestimated his opponent and now there was almost to way to reclaim the advantage.  So with nothing left to lose he charged in an all or nothing attack.  Slashing, and kicking, punching and slashing, no matter what the ninja threw he was either blocked or dodged.

Finally after a while of dancing with his opponent, Ranma used his "V-Slash" technique.  Sin was torn into, left alive only because the sword used was only wooden.  That did not save him from being launched through the windshield of a nearby car.  The fight seemed to be over.

Ranma let out a sigh of relief.  He had been bluffing with a good amount of his trash talk, but luckily Sin wasn't as strong as he bragged either.  He looked over at the captive Nabiki and gave her thumbs up.

"Don't just stand there feeling good about yourself, Saotome! Untie me!" The girl yelled.

Ranma smiled at her.  "Aww, c'mon.  That was great!  Did you see how I manhandled that guy?"

"Indeed I did, Ranma Saotome," a feminine, though familiar voice called out from the shadows.  The pony tailed boy soon became pale as he instantly recognized the voice who spoke to him.  

A girl, who couldn't be older than sixteen stepped from behind the car Sin had been introduced too.  She was a foreigner, with long blonde hair, and incredibly beautiful.  She wore a very expensive dress, not something that one would find in the average clothing store.  Nabiki had noticed all of this and to her this new arrival didn't seem like the typical fighter.  So why had Ranma suddenly become so worried?

The boy in question was having trouble breathing properly.  "E…Emily Tisdale?  W-w-what the hell are you doing in Japan?"

The blonde smirked evilly.  "To kill you of course, as well as rescue my beloved Ryoga from this filthy country's grasp."

Nabiki made a quickly analysis of the girl's accent.  It seemed to be an English one, but she could have very well been mistaken.  

The girl called Emily went on when she saw Ranma had not responded. "I'm sure you have not been keeping track of the lunar cycle since you escaped me almost three years ago.  Did you not realize that tonight is a full moon?"

Ranma had begun sweating bullets, but still had no reply for this seemingly old enemy.

The foreign girl gave the pony tailed martial artist a seductive smile.  "As you can tell I have not yet looked upon the moon.  I thought we could look at it together.  Don't be upset, Ranma.  You'll be able to die beautifully under the moon's brilliant shine."

Ranma looked at the girl with a pleading look, something Nabiki had not seen he boy use as long as she had known him.  He was not just afraid of this girl, he was terrified.  "Don't do it," the boy practically begged.

Emily did not pay the plea any attention as she titled her head starring directly at the full moon.  Ranma felt his heart stop.   The Chinese clothed boy, as well as Nabiki, could only watch in horror as the English girl began her terrifying transformation.  Her figure grew into a large mass of muscle, so large that she tore her clothing to shred.  At the same time her blonde hair and began to change into a grayish color. The same hair began to cover her entire body.  Her facial features, once that of an attractive human, had changed into a ferocious wolf.  It became clear to the middle Tendo sister just why Ranma had been so scared.

"What the hell is she?!' Nabiki demanded in a panic.

Ranma, who was also panicked, took a few seconds before he answered "Umm…she's a werewolf."

Nabiki had never believed in werewolves, or any of those stupid stories about monster that lurk in the night.  Even though she had met a boy who could change into a girl through a magical cure as well as a man who changes into a mythical monster Nabiki's strong belief that creatures such as vampires, zombies and werewolves were just silliness had remained firmed.  Unless this was a dream, and she severely hoped it was, than her belief system would need to be reexamined.

The now transformed Emily smiled a hideous and toothy grin at the two.  She spoke in a monstrous tone.  "My dear Ranma, can I assume that that delicious looking female behind you is your lover?  How fitting that I shall deny you your chance at love just as you have denied me in the past.  I will not just kill you, I shall break you and leave you helpless as I devour you girlfriend before your eyes!"

With that the werewolf leapt at the pony tailed fighter at a speed that left him with little time to react.  

Tatewaki Kuno's mindset the last few days has been a mystery to all that knew him.  His sister Kodachi, who truthfully didn't care too much for him, had taken notice of this.  Her brother had been spending the majority of his time practicing in his private training hall.  All day every day the boy trained.  The martial art gymnast couldn't help but wonder what had driven her brother to this.  She had heard that he had been embarrassed by losing in a kendo match against a mysterious new student at Furinkan.  No doubt that had something to do with it. 

Tonight was the usual routine.  Rather than sleeping, Kuno had chosen to practice.  He had not bothered to be quiet about it either.  This would cause Kodachi to investigate (Or more accurately shut him up).

"Brother dear, do you have any idea what time it is?" the girl asked tiredly.

Her brother was quick to answer though did not cease practicing his forms. "Does justice know night or day, sister?  Does honor?"  

Kodachi rolled her eyes at her "Beloved" brother.  He fashioned himself a samurai, a warrior of justice and honor, and he never stopped talking about the two.  It annoyed the gymnast to no end.  

"Really brother, all this over one loss.  Can you not go to bed now and resume your delusions in the morning?"

Kuno's eyes twitched.  He did not enjoy it when his sister referred to him as delusional, especially considering the state of her mind.  If there was one thing that the kendoist sure of it was that Kodachi was horribly insane.

"Blue Thunder" turned toward his sister and frowned.  "Be gone, I must continue my training."  He said no more to her and refused to even acknowledge her presence.  

Kodachi was annoyed at her brother's attitude but intrigued over the man who had caused Kuno to develop such a mindset.  It wasn't as if Tatewaki was plotting revenge, though she wasn't too sure what went on in her brother's mind.  She decided that she would like to meet this person who defeated her brother.

As Kodachi exited the training hall another figure silently and stealthily made his way in.

"Master Kuno," the new arrival called out to employer.  His name was Sasuke, a faithful ninja servant to the Kuno clan.  "I was making my nightly rounds as usual when I discovered something of interest to you."

Kuno did not stop practicing, but motioned his Sasuke to speak.

"I witnessed Ranma Saotome on his way running along the rooftops," the ninja reported.

This got the kendoist' attention.  He abruptly stopped his training and turned toward his servant.  "Saotome! Why would he be out running around the city at this ungodly hour?"

Sasuke continued.  "I followed him, as you had instructed me to keep tabs on the boy should I see him.  He headed toward the old junkyard.  There was a warrior there waiting for him.  A ninja in fact.  They seemed to be enemies.  Surprisingly Nabiki Tendo was there as well.  There were also at least two other parties in hiding, observing just as I was."

Kuno's relatively small brain took a few minutes to process what he had just been told.  Finally his face became serious.  "Fetch me the Kuno family blade."

As the ninja left to does he was told Kuno smirked wickedly.  Someone would taste steel this night.

Nabiki could not believe her eyes.  After seeing all the fights Ranma had gotten into since coming to Nerima she was quite certain the boy was invincible.  True he was defeated by Ryoga, but just barley.  Any other opponent hadn't lasted that long once the pony tailed boy got serious.  However now she was seeing something she never thought would happen:  Ranma was being manhandled.  The monster that had come to end the boy's life had been merciless.  

  Ranma picked himself up from the ground, having been slammed into it painfully by Emily.  She had backed off, not wanting to end it just yet.  The pony tailed fighter was a mess.  His clothes had been ripped to shreds and he was bleeding from various cuts and scratches that covered his body.  He also thought that his left shoulder might be dislocated.  

And the fight was far from over.

The monstrous Emily laughed (Or what would be considered a laugh in werewolf tongue).   She could see that the mighty Ranma Saotome didn't have much fight left in him.  "What's wrong, my dear Ranma?  Feeling a bit tired?  Perhaps you should lie down and rest."

"You bitch!!" Ranma screamed as he vanished in a blur.  He appeared right behind the werewolf and attempted a kick on his unsuspecting foe.  However the girl turned monster had seen it coming and caught the boy's foot before it could connect.  She began swinging him above her head violently by the leg.

"Getting dizzy, Ranma?"  Emily mockingly asked.  "Then I, being the generous person I am, will stop the spinning."  With that the beast of a woman tossed the pony tailed boy into a pile of car parts.

Damaged, but alive, Ranma climbed out from the junk pile.  He spat up a combination of vomit and blood.

The wolf girl frowned at this display.  "Disgusting!  Have you people no shame?  You shall pay for your vulgar behavior!"  Emily dashed at the victim with super human speed with the intention of finishing him off.

Ranma over was not ready to die yet.  He drew his bokken, which he had been saving.  "Stupid bitch, just go to hell!  V-SLASH!"

The attack connected with the incoming monster.  The force of the blow caused her to fly backwards, however unlike most of Ranma's other opponents Emily landed gracefully on her feet.  She felt her chest.  Sure enough the attack had created a "V" shaped scar.  The wolf girl howled in rage.  "You scum!  I'll crush you!"

Ranma suddenly found himself directly facing Emily.  Too weak and tired to move he was wrapped by the massive arms of his opponent.  She began to squeeze the life out of him.

Nabiki Tendo, who had watched all of this, could do nothing to help him.

Not too far from this scene, three amazons watched in shock as the man who destroyed their village was slowly being crushed to death by a mere werewolf.  Was he holding back?  Or perhaps this man wasn't the same one.

In either case the continued to watch, not wanting to risk the former.

Akane and Ryoga had made it to the junkyard in relative ease (Though Ryoga kept wandering off or walking in the wrong direction).  What they found there was not a comforting sight.  Nabiki was tied up, Sin was no where to be found, and Ranma was being held by a monster.

Akane, not having seen such a creature before, was not only scared but confused as well.  "What the hell is going on?  What is that thing?  That's not Sin is it?"

Turning toward her companion she found herself shocked once more.  Ryoga's face was pale and was obviously scared of his wits.  "It…it can't be her.  How did she track us down?"

Akane confusion only increased when the lost boy said this.  "Ryoga, what's going on?  What is that thing?"

The bandana clad youth closed his eyes as he remembered his first encounter with that monster.  He and Ranma had barley been able to escape with their lives that time.  "That's Emily Tisdale.  She's werewolf, and totally insane.  I can't explain it all right now, but to be honest Ranma most likely won't get out of this alive."

The youngest Tendo sister gasped at Ryoga's comment.  Was he serious?  Was Ranma truly going to die this night?

The lost boy dashed toward the direction of the fight.  Not bothering to turn back at Akane he yelled "Get Nabiki out of here and run.  This is no place for you!"  

With that Akane was alone.  Shrugging off her confusion as well as the danger she faced just being there the heir to the Tendo School raced toward where Nabiki was being kept.  She hoped her older sister had some answers.

Ryoga, ignoring his hesitancy of hitting girls, ran toward the werewolf and delivered a tremendous axe handle smash to the back Emily Tisdale.  This caused her to drop the battered Ranma.  The werewolf girl turned toward her assailant with the intention of ripping off his head, but found herself pleasantly surprised when she saw it was her one true love.

"My love," she said sweetly (As sweetly as possible anyway).  "I did not expect you to be here.  Please wait a moment while I kill Ranma, then you'll be able to express your true feelings for me."

Ryoga nearly lost his mind when she said that.  "You crazy bitch!  You think I'm gonna stand around while you kill my best friend?  To get to Ranma you'll have to go through me first!"

Emily sighed at this.  Ranma's evil hold over her love was strong.  "I see.  The spell he has over you is still in place.  You don't realize your love for me.  Well then I'll have to show you that you love me.  If I have to do it by beating you within an inch of your life than so be it!"

And so Ryoga began the fight of his life.

The turn of events that had just taken place was not totally unexpected for Nabiki.  Since Ryoga and Ranma were such good friends it was obvious that the lost boy would arrive sooner or later.  But this creature had just torn Ranma up in a relatively short time.  How much of a chance does the lost boy have?

The Ice Queen's attention was drawn away by the appearance of a familiar face.  "Hey sis," Nabiki's sister greeted as she reached the spot where the middle Tendo had been tied down.

Akane found herself surprised with Nabiki.  The girl usually had a cool demeanor, one she never let slip no matter the situation.  However what the youngest Tendo found was a Nabiki whose face was full of fear.  Akane didn't know what her sister had been through while she was here but she made a silent promise that someone would pay for it tonight.

"Akane, what are you doing here?" Nabiki asked her sister.

The dark haired girl tried her best to give a reassuring smile.  She quickly began untying the ropes "Rescuing you, of course.  I thought that was obvious."

Once free, Nabiki instantly nearly fell over.  Luckily she was caught by her sister.  Akane realized then just how out of sorts her sister was.  "Was it really that scary?"

Nabiki thought the question was a bit odd.  She hadn't really been scared. Sure, that girl turning into a monster was a bit weird and shocking; but no worse than seeing Genma changes into a griffin.  "Of course not.  Way do you ask?"

"You've been crying," Akane said simply.

The brown haired girl placed her hand upon her check.  It was wet.  She hadn't realized she had been doing it but she had indeed been crying.  She didn't understand why she had been doing so.

Akane interrupted the older girl's thoughts by stating the obvious.  "It looks like Ryoga has drawn the thing away from Ranma.  We should probably take advantage and help him."

Nabiki nodded.  She turned toward the pony tailed boy.  He was slowly trying to get to his feet, using his bokken as a crutch.  When she saw him bloody and battered the middle Tendo girls felt a warm liquid flowing down her cheeks.  She then understood:  Her tears were for this boy, who had been utterly destroyed by his opponent.  Her fear was not for her own safety but for that of her would be rescuer.

"What's wrong with me," she thought. "Why the hell am I crying over this guy?  It's his fault I'm in this mess in the first place.  It's not like we're friends or anything.  Sure maybe I feel a slight attraction to him, but still…"

Nabiki would not have the opportunity to find an answer to her question.  She and Akane headed toward the injured Ranma.  The boy was obviously hurt badly, but still refused to stay down.  His tenacity was to be admired. 

Akane, upon reaching him, offered her arm.  "Let me him you up."

Ranma refused the gesture.  "I can get up on my own."

The youngest Tendo sister started to become angry.  "I was just trying help, you jerk!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes at her sister.  "Akane, is this really a good time for you to lose your temper?"  

Akane complied and ignored Ranma's statement.  However her curiosity about the whole situation was still ragging.  She questioned Ranma on the status of Sin and the identity of the monster Ryoga was fighting.

The pony tailed by this time was standing up.  He spoke in an exhausted voice.  "I took care of that Sin jerk with out much effort.  That thing Ryoga's fighting is a girl named Emily Tisdale.  She's this crazy chick from England.  She's from this weird aristocratic werewolf family that has a lot of power and money where she's from.  It sounds crazy but it's true.  She's also a complete psycho who thinks she's in love with Ryoga."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow.  "Let me guess; you're in the way so she needs to kill you."

Ranma nodded.  "She's too strong for me or Ryoga to take her on alone.  I'll help him out."

Akane eyes narrowed at Ranma's proposed idea.  "Don't be stupid, you can barley stand.  How are you going to fight?"

He got a chance to answer as he was cut off by the sound of thunder bolts in the distance.  As if on cue a familiar kendoist suddenly appeared from the shadows.

He smiled evilly.  "It would seem that Ranma Saotome has been defeated.  The foe is stronger then what Sasuke implied.  Not just a ninja but a demon from the depths of hell itself.  Fear not Saotome, for your defeat shall be avenged!"  He drew a dangerous yet elegant looking katana as thunder again boomed in the distance.

Everyone starred at the kendoist in disbelief.  Ranma was the first to speak. "Kuno, umm, not that I don't appreciate your help but don't you kind of, you know, hate me?"

Kuno frowned hard.  "I bear you no love, this much is true.  However since our last battle I have begun to respect you.  No warrior had ever fought Blue Thunder to a draw in a battle of blades.  I have realized that the noble blood of samurais must flow through your veins, as it does my own.  Until the day where we cross swords again I shall protect you with my life!  I swear on the noble house of Kuno!"  With that the deranged swordsman walked slowly but confidently toward where Ryoga and Emily were fighting.

It took Ranma five seconds before what Kuno said sunk in.  "Hey wait a second!  That wasn't a draw!  I beat your ass fair and square you jerk!"

The three watched the self proclaimed "samurai" march toward what was certain death.  What exactly was going on in Kuno's head?

Ryoga was doing better than Ranma had against Emily.  Normally something like this would make the lost boy's already large ego grow even bigger, however he was sure that the girl turned monster was holding back, not wanting to seriously hurt her love.  Even so the bandana clad martial artist was having trouble against his opponent.  He was taking more blows than he was landing and was positive that Emily hit harder than he did.  

Despite his high stamina, Ryoga had begun getting winded.  He wasn't sure how long he could continue to fight.  Emily, noticing the boy's heavy breathing, decided to take advantage of the situation.  She launched her fist in a slow but power manner in the direction of the lost boy.  Luckily it the bandana clad fighter was easily able to avoid the slow moving attack by leaping over it.  However Emily had predicted this.  While in the air Ryoga found himself swatted painfully by the back of the wolf girl's hand.  The blow sent the boy crashing into a nearby wall.  He fell to the ground painfully leaving an imprint of him self where he landed on the wall.

          Emily smirked bearing her razor sharp fangs.  "I think it's time to end this game, my love.  I have no problems with breaking you into pieces and bringing you back to England in a sack."

The lost boy responded by picking himself up and using an offensive fighting stance.  The girl turned monster shook her head.  Why was love so difficult?  She never got an answer as her thoughts were cut off by the around of fighting hitting nearby metal.  Loud thunder was accompanied by confident laughter of a cocky kendoist.  

Kuno smirked as the wolf girl turned to face him.  "To think Ranma Saotome was defeated by such a beastly looking demon."

Emily angrily growled at the newcomer's statement.  "Beastly?!  You dirty peasant!  How dare you refer to me as beastly?!"

Kuno felt his eye twice.  "So the monster speaks like a man.  Let's see if you can fight like one."

And so Tatewaki Kuno used his incredible kendo skills to cut down the vile creature that had dared to face him in combat.  Or at least that's how the kendoist will most likely remember it as in his mind later.  In reality he was swatted away like a common house fly before he could even draw his sword.  He landed several blocks away making his entire entrance completely meaningless.

Ryoga however chose to use Emily's momentary distraction to his advantage.  The bandana clad fighter slammed his fist into the ground with all the strength he could mustered.  "DAIJISHIN BAKUHATSU!!"

The invisible ball of chi created a path of destruction as it made its way toward the girl turned monster.  The collision caught Emily off guard, but even so (Much to Ryoga's shock) the wolf girl simply shrugged it off rather than being knocked off her feet as was the intention.

Emily's eyes narrowed.  "That hurt a little."  

Ranma, watching from the sidelines, had had enough.  He tried to move from where he was standing but quickly lost his balance.  He was caught by Akane.

"You're not in any condition to help him," Akane reminded the boy.  "Leave it to me.  I'm sure she couldn't take both Ryoga and me."

Nabiki lost her cool at her sister's blind confidence.  "Akane, what chance do you think you have if she just swatted Kuno away?"

Akane did not want to admit that she there was nothing she could do to help.  Her pride as a martial artist was already shaken with Ranma and Ryoga living under her roof, but nothing hurts a strong fighter like the feeling of helplessness.  Especially when for a long time you had considered yourself the best.  Ranma too was experiencing this and he didn't like any better than his fiancée.

Ryoga was out of ideas.  He had put all his strength into that last shot and was now pretty tired.  He wouldn't last too much longer, but he'd be damned if he had to marry this psycho bitch!

Just as he was about to try an all or nothing suicide attack the lost boy suddenly found his left wrist bound to some type of rope that was attached to a nearby pole.  Looking closer he recognized it as the unmistakable material for pantyhose.

From the sidelines Ranma nearly screamed.  How in the hell could this get any worse?

Emily too had suddenly stopped what she was doing.  She had picked up a new scent.  Was there yet another fool who wanted to stand in the way of true love?!

"Stop right there, flea bag," a male voice from the shadow called out to the wolf girl.  On cue a boy, around the same age as Ranma and Ryoga, stepped from his hiding place.  He wearing green Chinese style clothing and a cocky grin that made Ranma's look modest.  He had a flask attached to the sash around his waist.  "If anyone's gonna beat the shit outta that sucker punching bastard it's me.  Now beat it before I call the pound."

Emily shook her head.  Another asian fool who thought he could stand up to her strength.  "This is getting tiresome.  Who might you be, little man?"

The stranger lost his grin and replaced it with a deadly stare.  "My name is….not important.  What is important is that I came all the here to kick this guy and the pony tailed guy's ass.  I don't really care about puppy dogs, so you can just get lost and leave him to me!"

Akane and Nabiki were now starting to wonder actually how many enemies these two guys had.  Nabiki was the first to ask who this new guy was.  Ranma simply answered "Pantyhose Taro."

The Chinese martial artist's face became filled with rage when he heard his name being used.  He turned toward the Saotome Heir and screamed "Don't call me that, you pony tailed son of a bitch!"

Emily decided to play a little mind game with this new challenger.  "Indeed I thought you Asian people had such ridiculous names before, but to think that I'd meet someone named 'Pantyhose.'  Was you mother called 'bloomers' by any chance?"

 Taro lost his mind at this.  He grabbed the flask which he had been carrying.  "That's it!  I'm going to take care of you first, Flea Bag!"

By this time Ryoga had managed to get free of the pantyhose he had been tied to and was quietly sneaking away.  Seeing his friend leave to scene Ranma decided that it would be a good idea to flee as well.  "There's only one way to get out of this alive.  The Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Final Technique."

"And what might that be?" Nabiki asked curiously.

"Run away."

Had they had been in the right mindset the Tendo sisters would have face faulted.  Instead they compiled with Ranma's suggestion and carefully snuck away from the scene.  

After they made it outside to the entrance Akane finally asked "What about that guy back there?  Was it right to leave him there?  I know he seems to be an enemy of yours but…"

The dark haired girl was cut off by a very loud cry that sounded similar to that of an enraged cow.

Ranma shook his head.  "Don't worry, that guy is the perfect sparring partner for that psycho."

The three spent a few minutes searching for Ryoga before they gave up.  He seemed to have gotten lost somewhere after he left the scene.   

Ranma assured the girls that the moon would set before the fight ended and they wouldn't have to worry about any unexpected werewolf guests for a while.  Despite that knowledge the three housemates were extremely careful as they treaded back home, praying another enemy of Ranma's didn't show himself.

The three females who had been watching the whole scene from the shadows were utterly confused.  Could this boy whom they had been following truly not be the same monster who attacked their village?  Between the three of them there was no way they could verify until it was too late.  They would wait for Elder Cologne to arrive in Japan

Kasumi had been trying to go on as if it was business as usual but after realizing that Akane had snuck out of the house she had become extremely worried.  Both her sisters were out there somewhere and she could not help them.  All she could do was wait for Ranma to return with hopefully both her sisters in the dinning room.

The sounds of the back door opening caused the eldest Tendo to sister to stand up and quickly race toward the back of the house.  Sure enough Ranma, being helped by Akane, stood in the doorway along with Nabiki.  All of Kasumi's fears subsided.

Ranma cheerfully smiled at the older girl.  "I'm back."

Kasumi warmly smiled at him.  "Welcome back."

Sin climbed out of the car that Ranma had caused to crash into.  He had miscalculated his opponent and became too confidant.  The ninja looked around.  It was morning and the battle was long over.  However the area looked like a war zone.  He knew that it wasn't just from the quick fight he and his pony tailed bounty had engaged in.

He shrugged it off.  It wasn't important anyway.  As the bounty hunter struggled to his feet he quickly realized he was not alone.

"That was pathetic.  I had heard that one of the best bounty hunters in the world had taken the job to bring in Ranma Saotome.  I can't believe that that was your very best."

Sin found himself starring at a young Chinese boy, with long hair and back robes that just screamed cliché villain.  

The boy continued.  "I myself want to see Ranma dead.  However I know better than anyone that his power is too great to defeat him in a straight fight.  I've recently gained great strength myself and I still do not believe myself strong enough to defeat that monster.  Perhaps if I had an ally…"

Sin was beginning to catch on.  "I see.  I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a little help."

The boy smiled wickedly.  He extended his hand.  "My name is Mousse, a former amazon."

The bounty hunting ninja raised an eyebrow.  "Ummm, why are you asking that car bumper to shake you hand?"

Mousse quickly put his glasses on only to find he had been talking to car parts.  

To be continued…

Author's Note:  Oh man, it took me forever but I finally finished another crappy chapter to my overly crappy fic.  Many factors delayed this chapter, but I mainly blame the fact that Christ break gave me so much free time that I didn't know how to properly use it.  Anyways Chapter five featured the introduction of some new characters as well as steer this fic toward the main plot.  No killing this time, but I warn you now; don't get too attached to any character in this story.  I'm perfectly willing to kill anyone off with out a moments notice.

Who is this Emily Tisdale?  What did Ranma and Ryoga do to Taro to make him so damn pissed?  What's up with Mousse?  And more importantly did Ranma really attack and successfully defeat the amazon nation?  Regardless, in the next chapter many many many questioned will be answered including the one that has been asked since chapter one: Who (Or what) the hell is Tenma?

Revisions Note:  Mostly cleaned it up. Altered some sentences as well.

Next Chapter: Confronted by an angry Tendo clan, Ranma is forced to disclose most of the information regarding his travels.  This will include the identity of Tenma!  Meanwhile Nabiki tries to figure out her feelings for the pony tailed boy while others plot his downfall.


	6. Memory

Disclaimer:  Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi.  I had nothing to do with it.  Please do not sue me; all money that I have goes directly to liquor…err, I mean comics and such. 

Warning: Dark Scenes ahead!

A little over two months ago…

Shampoo had not been prepared for an attack on the village and she cursed herself for that.  A true warrior was always ready for combat no matter what the situation.  However she had been busy in the northern forest doing last minute training for the tournament that was to be held in two days.  The fact was that no one was prepared, but that did nothing to help Shampoo's guilt.  To the girl's horror she heard loud explosions coming from the village.  Upon reaching her home the purple haired amazon found many houses on fire and corpses spread throughout the village.  It was a horrible site.  It was like the whole world was burning.

"What force could have done all this," Shampoo wondered.  It couldn't have been the Musk; they didn't have the forces to mount a full scale assault on the amazons.  But if it wasn't their hated foe then who could it have been?

The sounds of a battle snapped Shampoo from her current train of thought.  The Amazon raced toward the scene where the noise was coming from only to find a single hooded cloaked figure standing over a terrified little girl.  The unknown warrior placed his hand above the girl's head.

"Death to all amazons," was all he said as a ki blast erupted from his palm, incinerating the helpless girl right before Shampoo's eyes.

The Amazon was in shock when she saw her "little sister" die such a tragic and pointless death.  Enraged, Shampoo charged at the murderer, ignoring the fact that she had never seen such incredible power before.  She lashed out with a barrage of kicks and punches, but the mysterious fighter was able to block them all with ease.  Beneath his cloak he smiled.  With one devastating kick, the cloaked fighter sent his opponent painfully to the ground.  

Shampoo had never been hit this hard.  The single blow had given her several internal injuries.  The amazon was coughing up blood. Before she had a chance to retaliate at all she suddenly found the cloaked murderer's foot on top of her throat.

"I can't believe that was all you had" the cloaked man spoke in perfect Chinese.  "You damn amazons are not only dishonorable, but pathetically weak as well."

Normally Shampoo would have become insanely angry when an outsider insulted her people, but the voice of her opponent was so familiar…  She told herself it couldn't be him, the kind boy she had met a few months earlier.  The voice was far too cold, and his methods far too brutal.

But when the outsider removed his hood there was no denying it: This man was Ranma Saotome.

Ranma smirked evilly and spat at his downed foe.  "I couldn't find the bitch that killed my mother here today.  I guess you and your sisters will have to do."

Shampoo was utterly confused.  The Ranma she knew would never attack the Amazon Nation.  In fact he couldn't; he wasn't nearly strong enough.  Even if he wanted revenge against the one who killed his mother Shampoo had told him before that the one who had done the deed was a fallen Amazon and was no longer welcomed in the village for other reasons.  Most disturbingly of all: this guy attacked as if he didn't recognize her.

Just before Ranma made the killing blow Shampoo looked at his eyes and suddenly realized the truth.  Sadly it was far too late.

After a few hours later Ranma left the village, having killed all but a few of its inhabitants.  As he slowly walked away he smiled once again.

"Was that okay, Tenma?" 

**Chapter 6**

**Memory**

It was morning at the Tendo household.  It had been two days since Nabiki had been kidnapped by the bounty hunter ninja who called himself "Sin".   Ranma easily dispatched of the kidnapper but was unprepared by the arrival of his old enemy Emily Tisdale.  The pony tailed boy was almost killed, saved only by the interference of Ryoga as well as another Jusenkyo cursed martial artist who was referred to as "Pantyhose Taro."

The house had been filled with turmoil over the whole situation.  Questions about Ranma were being brought up, mainly by Soun who up until this point had seemingly not been too worried about the boy's past. But now things were different as the skeletons in the pony tailed martial artist's closet had broken out and were now threatening the Tendo family.

Interrogations would have to wait, however, as Ranma needed a few days to recover from the fight.  The Chinese clothes clad youth opted to stay home from school during this time, not to mention having to wait a while before starting his new part time job.  Dr. Tofu didn't mind of course.  He told the young fighter that he could start whenever he felt he was healthy enough to do so.

Three days past.  Ranma spent much of this time in his room recovering.  By the third day he felt like he was ready to get back into his training.  He spent most of the day in the dojo.  It was only when Kasumi asked him to come to the dining room for tea that he stopped.  Waiting for him there were Mr. Tendo and Genma.  The pony tailed boy quietly sat at the table with them, knowing full well what would happen next.

There would still be a few hours before Nabiki and Akane would return from school while Ryoga hadn't been seen since the night of the battle.  So until Kasumi returned from the kitchen with the tea it was just Ranma and the old men.

Genma's face was hard, as was Soun's. "You've got some explaining to do, boy," his father exclaimed.

Soun nodded.  "Who exactly was that…girl who attacked you?  Why in the world do you have a bounty on your head?"

Ranma sighed.  He had tried to keep as much of his past a mystery as possible since he didn't think he'd be staying long.  Sadly he had no choice.  "Alright Pop…Mr. Tendo…I'll tell you about it.  All of it."

Only Ranma noticed Kasumi poking her head out of the kitchen in order to better hear the explanation.

"I'll you about that Emily chick first.  It all started about three years ago…"

Nodoka returned to the current apartment that the Saotome's were renting late that day.  It was well past dinner time which left Genma annoyed.  When she returned she had a worried expression on her face.  A thirteen year old Ranma starred from across the room.  He noticed his mother was Ryoga-less which could only mean that his friend had once again wandered off and gotten lost.  This didn't happen too often since both the Saotome parents kept a close eye on the young boy.

Genma wasn't happy once he realized what had happen.  "Damn that brat!  He's always getting lost somewhere and I'm always the one who has to go find him!  Well I've had it!  He can go fall of a cliff for all I care.  I've wasted valuable training time on him that could have been used for Ranma!"

The pony tailed boy in question gasped at his father's statement.  As those words passed through the old man's lips Ranma began losing what little respect he had for him.

Nodoka was outraged.  "How can you say that?  I know Ryoga is a handful but he's as much a member of this family as any of us.  If you won't go looking for him then I shall!"

To this the fat, glasses wearing martial artist frowned.  "I'm not going to let you go out alone.  You know how much ground that kid can cover when he's lost!"

The two argued for a good long while.  Finally, after becoming fed up with the two their young son yelled out "I'll go find him!"

Both his parents looked at him like he had lost mind.  To which Ranma replied "Look, Pop doesn't want to do it, right?  So why not me?"

Genma shook his head.  "That's crazy talk, boy."  But then he thought about it.  Ranma going looking for him meant he didn't have to do it.  Also it would be good tracking training for the boy.  Plus while he was gone he could get a well deserved break from their training.  The fat fighter turned to his wife.  "Nodoka, I insist that Ranma go out looking for Ryoga.  It'll be good training."

This resulted in another argument, but in the end Nodoka agreed.  Ranma was allowed to go looking for Ryoga alone. The pony tailed boy left as soon as he could pack what few belongings he had.

The search for Ryoga was, in Ranma's opinion, the single most trying experience in his life.  He thought that he would just be searching around the Osaka area (Which was where they currently lived) but instead Ryoga led Ranma on a fantastic world tour!  For six months the pony tailed boy tracked his friend.  He saw and visited several countries along the way and had many adventures.  

Finally Ranma was able to catch up to the elusive Ryoga in England of all places.

The Saotome Heir picked up Ryoga's trail in a very small village.  There was nothing interesting about it at all except that there had been a string of murders the past few months.  Several young men, all who possessed some sort of fighting ability, were found brutally murdered in the streets.  To add to the already questionable circumstances all the killings happen to take place on full moons.

Ranma didn't believe in werewolves at all and figured that some crazy person was going around slicing people up with some sort of weird horror movie fetish.  The pony tailed boy was a bit cautious though, as fighters were being targeted.  There was a chance, albeit a small one, that Ryoga had been a victim after roaming through the town.  Then there's also the possibility that the Saotome Heir was next.

After asking around the village he learned that a young Asian boy, around thirteen or fourteen, had come around about two days ago asking where Osaka was.  All signs pointed to Ryoga.  Unfortunately no one had seen him since then, which meant he may have wandered off.  The morgue had told the Ranma that no one by that description (or anyone else lately for that matter) had been found dead in the matter the serial murders had been taking place.

After a full day of detective work the pony tailed youth decided that it was time to turn in for the night.  He opted to camp just outside of town and hopefully he would resume his search in the morning.

The sound of nearby foot steps forced Ranma awake.  Someone was wandering around the outside of his tent.  Carefully Ranma poked his head outside.  All he saw was some old middle aged guy leaning against a nearby tree smoking a cigarette.  "Hello, nice night, isn't it," he said to the pony tailed boy in English.

"Umm, yeah, I guess so," Ranma replied.  His English was pretty good, as his mother had forced him, as well as Ryoga, to study the basics of many languages.  Being a quick learner he had been able to learn to speak decent English, Chinese and German during this little six month trip.  "Hey, mind telling me what you're doing hanging around my tent?"

The old guy just smiled.  "You're a fighter, right?  Of course you are; I already know that you are.  I can tell by the way you carried yourself around town today.  I'd say you pretty bloody good."

The wheels in Ranma's head began turning quickly.  "You're the guy who's been slicing up fighters!"

The man tossed his cigarette away, giving the Saotome Heir a wink.  "I must say, a brilliant use of deduction considering we've only talked a short while.  But yes, you are correct.  I'm guilty as charged."

Hearing that Ranma came out of his tent completely, not caring that he was only clad in his boxers.  "I guess you want to fight me too, huh?"  

The man simply nodded.  "Most of those other fellows weren't true warriors, so I ended their lives.  Let's see if you're any better."

The pony tailed martial artist, showing any signs of fear, went into a defensive stance.  Without moving the man continued.  "The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" It wasn't until then Ranma noticed the full moon high in the sky behind this mysterious challenger.  "I've yet to look at it this night.  Would you mind if I took a peek?"

With that the man turned around and took a nice long look at the bountiful sphere.  Then the transformation took place.  He grew only slightly larger, thus he remained in the suit he wore, but he still became covered in brown fur and his had took the shape of a vicious looking wolf.  Ranma could barley believe what he saw; it was true, the killer really was werewolf!

The creature launched himself at the young fighter, but surprisingly it wasn't nearly as fast as he was expecting.  Ranma was easily able to dodge the attacks of the vicious looking werewolf.  

This went on for a while until the wolf-man finally began to grow weary.  Sensing the opening Ranma punched the monster with all his might in the stomach.  This caused his to fall to his knees, clenching his gut.

"Alright, alright, I surrender," The wolf said to his former opponent.  "Damn, I can't believe you are as strong as that other kid."

This caused Ranma to suddenly become emotional.  "Other kid?"

The wolf nodded.  "Yes, the bloke you were asking about in town today. I know him.  I fought him about two days ago.  He beat me just as quickly as you did.  Your styles are similar, I believe."

"So you know Ryoga?  Where the hell is he?"

The werewolf suddenly turned back into his human form.  "I'll take you to him and explain on the way," he responded in perfect Japanese.

After dressing himself, Ranma followed the stranger in the hopes he could finally find his lost friend

It turned out that this man was the head of a family of werewolves which he descried as the most powerful, wealthy and important clan in England.  It seemed that it was getting close to the time his daughter, the heir the family fortune and next leader of the clan, was to go through the marriage ritual.  Accordance to the old customs though she would have to marry a human who was strong enough to defeat the current leader (The groom would be changed into one of them by the bride on the honeymoon).  This would ensure that the bloodline would always be kept strong.  Thus Theodore Tisdale, as the stranger would introduce himself as to Ranma, had for the past few months attacked anyone with fighting ability that happened to pass through this little town.  If he was defeated then that young man would be taken back to their mansion and engaged to his beloved daughter.

When Ranma asked if Ryoga had consented to this rather bizarre ritual all Theodore could say was that "He just had some pre-marital gitters.  I expect he'll change his tune once he's lived with Emily a bit.  She's quite beautiful, after all.  Well mannered and kind.  A little, err, eccentric, but otherwise a real catch."

"Here's what I don't get," Ranma said as the two neared a huge mansion upon a rather large hill.  "Why the hell are you still attacking fighters if you already found a guy for your kid to marry?"

Theodore looked a little embarrassed when Ranma asked that.  "Well, ahem, when one engages in activities for a long while he gains a certain fancy for it…"

The pony tailed young just shook his head.  He knew what the old man was implying: He had become addicted to killing fighters foolish enough to stroll through the sleepy town.  Ranma knew for a fact that there was no way Ryoga would want to marry into such a family on his own accord.  Above all else the lost boy hated people picking on the weak and it seemed this was what this clan was all about.

Upon reaching the front doors Ranma noticed two young men standing on each side of the front door.  Theodore explained that Ranma was a friend of the "groom" and should be treated with respect while he stayed there.

"Well, can I see Ryoga now or what?"  Ranma demanded, passing up the opportunity to take the grand tour of the house.

The old wolf sighed sadly, as hoped to show his new friend just how rich and powerful he really was.  "Alright, I'll take you to him.  A pity really, I so wanted to show you the library.  Oh well, I'd say there'll be plenty of time for that later.  Follow me, my boy."

And thus the head of this odd family lead Ranma to the back of the mansion.  There was a door that, like the front, was guarded; this time by a mountain of a man.  He had no hair on his head and seemed to enjoy not wearing a shirt so he could show off his muscles.

"Out the way, Cyrus," Theodore demanded when the large man did not initially clear the doorway.  "I'm taking this boy to see Ryoga."

The Cyrus person seemed a bit torn.  "Well, the thing is Master Tisdale is, well, your daughter Emily gave strict instructions not to let anyone pass."

This made Theodore raise an eyebrow.  "What?  I say, that does sound like something Emily would do.  Perhaps giving your friend a bit of a preview of what married life will be for them, eh Ranma?" He nudged the pony tailed boy as he said this.

Ranma said nothing, as he decided to pretend he couldn't understand English at this point.

The head of the Tisdale household looked directly in Cyrus' eyes.  "Look here Cyrus, I'm afraid that Emily doesn't have higher authority than myself, so I must insist that you move.  Otherwise I'll have to rip of you head, drain your skull, and use it as a wine bottle."

Cyrus moved out of way.

What was behind the door was a stair case that led into what was nothing more than a dungeon.  Ranma asked why Ryoga was staying in here of all places.

"Dungeon?  Don't be silly, my dear boy.  This is Emily's room."

This was Ranma's first clue of the mental state of this "Emily" person.  Despite the claims that this was a room it certainly looked like a dungeon.  Actually it was more of a torture chamber as several questionable devises could be found in there.  Dank, dark, rats running around, no light except for the torches on the wall, Ryoga chained to said wall…wait, what?

Indeed, Ryoga Hibiki was chained against one of the walls of the so-called room.  He was sporting a black eye and his clothes were a bit torn, but he was otherwise fine as far as Ranma could tell.  The lost boy seemed to be asleep.

Ranma, shocked at this, raced toward his friend.  "Ryoga!  Wake up!  C'mon man, wake up."  After slapping him around a few times the lost boy came around.  

When he realized who it was standing in front of him, Ryoga began crying tears of joy.  "Oh, thank God it's you Ranma!  I thought I was doomed!"

Ranma turned toward Theodore.   "What the hell is this, huh?  I'd say he's not jumping for joy at the thought of marrying your daughter!"

The old man was a bit puzzled as well.  "Hmm, yes, this is a bit strange.  She told me he was quite comfortable in here.  I truthfully haven't seen him since I first brought him to the manor.  I thought what they needed was some time alone."

This caused Ryoga to explode.  "You idiot!  Because of you I've seen hell!  That psycho you call a daughter thought it be fun to beat the resistance out of me so I could become a nice docile husband.  She even said that if by tonight I still wasn't gung ho about getting married she'd dominate me in fun and interesting ways!  I don't know what she meant by that but it sounded painful!"

Theodore looked down at the floor as it had seemed suddenly interesting.  "Well, ahem, don't look at me.  Got that from her mother, I expect."

The pony tailed boy had had it.  "Listen up, old man: I don't care what you thought was going happen but it's obvious that your kid is a nutcase and Ryoga doesn't wanna marry her.  So we can do this one of two ways: You can let us walk out of here nice and easy or we can pretend that that I'm a vet and it's time for all bad doggies to get neutered!"

Theodore, by all means, was not an idiot and could tell when he was outmatched.  "I see.  Then you feel the same way, Ryoga?'

"DAMN STRAIGHT I DO!!" was the lost boy's response.  

The old man sighed.  "Oh well. I don't see the point in trying to force things.  You're free to go, boys.  Let help you down, Ryoga."

A few minutes they all found themselves outside Emily's room, standing next to the guard Cyrus who had a troubled look on his face.

"Well, lads," Theodore said cheerfully, as though none of what had happened that night was any sort of big deal.  "Parting is such sweet sorrow. If either of you happen to find yourselves in England again feel free to drop by.  We can have a cup of tea in my own private personal library."  He looked particularly pleased about the fact that he did indeed own his own library.

"Umm, sure," Ranma lied as both he and Ryoga never to set eyes on another member of this family for as long as they lived.

There was a pause of awkward silence.  After a while Theodore cleared his throat as if indicating he wanted the boys to say something.  When they shrugged their shoulders the werewolf leader rolled his eyes at their ungentlemanly behavior.  "Weren't you raised were proper manners?  When I invite you to come back for a visit you should do the same for me.  I'm not sure why I'd ever be so bold as to visit Japan, but if I were I'd like to think I'd be able to stay with my new oriental friends, don't you think?"

Ranma again rolled his eyes.  "Sure, whatever."  

They said there goodbyes and the two martial artists were just about to walk away when Theodore again grabbed their attention.  "Oh, I forgot to mention that my dear daughter Emily hates to loose.  I doubt she'll give up on you as easily as I have, Ryoga.  If I were you I'd get as far from England as possible and be extremely aware of the lunar cycle."

Ranma gave him a cocky smirk.  He had beaten Theodore with little effort and he was supposed to be the head of the clan.  The pony tailed youth certainly didn't fear some little girl werewolf.

The two friends quickly made their way out of the mansion, however they sadly did not get very far until the sound of someone running filled the night air.  They turned around to find, much to Ranma's annoyance (and Ryoga's fear), a girl standing behind them.  With long blonde hair, beautiful looks and an expensive dress this girl could only be the elusive Emily.

She was breathing heavily as she was forced to run in order to catch up to them.  Once she caught her breath she asked "Ryoga, dear, why have you strayed from our home?  And who is this ruff looking Asian whom is accompanying you?  A new servant"

This comment got to Ranma.  "Hey, watch your mouth!"

The blond didn't to hear him.  Her attention was solely on the lost boy.  "Ryoga, come we should really head back home.  There's still so much for us to do as a young engaged couple."

The bandana clad youngster lost his temper at this.  "Listen Emily, for the last time I'm not going to marry you!  Can't you get that through your demented head?"

"Yeah," Ranma added.  "I mean, you can't force someone to love you, so why bother?"

Emily's cold eyes were not starring directly at the Saotome heir.  It sent chills down his spine for some reason.  "So," Emily said, her voice like ice.  "You are the one who has poisoned my lover's mind with thoughts of betrayal and desertion."

Ranma gulped, not knowing what to say.

"Fine," she continued.  "It seems before I can embrace love's sweet kiss I must deal with you first.  Very well, I shall!  Be thankful that I have allowed you die with such a beautiful moon in the sky!"

And with that, Emily Tisdale eyed above their heads and looked straight into the large moon in the sky.  The same transformation as with Theodore took place.  However this time the werewolf standing before them was much, much larger and looked far more vicious and bloodthirsty.

All Ranma could say to this was "Oh shit."

Ranma stopped at this point, leaving Soun, Genma and Kasumi shocked and in disbelief.

"What happened after that, Ranma?" Kasumi asked.  During Ranma's tale she had become too involved and had actually come to sit with them at the table.

Ranma shrugged.  "She was too strong for us to fight her one on one so we doubled teamed her.  We barley got away.  For the next few months she chased all over Europe.  We finally lost her by the time we got back o Japan.  We decided the whole experience was too bizarre for anyone to believe us so we kept it to ourselves."

Soun was crying by this point.  "Such a horrible ordeal!  And yet the path of a true martial artist is fraught with peril!  I'm so proud of you son!"

Genma wasn't so quick to agree.  "Hold on a minute, Tendo.  This whole story sounds fishy.  I mean, c'mon, werewolves?  I don't really believe in such fairy tales."

No sooner did he say those words Genma found himself flying through the air, compliments of Ranma, and landing painfully in the koi pond outside.  "And I didn't used to believe in magic curses and griffins either," the pony tailed youth yelled at his now mythical monster father.  "Besides, old man, Akane and Nabiki both said they saw Emily turn into one, right?"

Kasumi again spoke up.  "So Ranma, basically what you're trying to say is that Emily is Ryoga's fiancée."

Ranma gave a reluctant nod.  "I guess you could put it that way."

It wasn't until then the eldest Tendo daughter realized she hadn't made the tea yet.  She quickly apologized and darted off to the kitchen.

Soun, who had regained a bit of control, faced Ranma again.  "But what about the other person there?  That man Akane said you called 'Pantyhose'?"

Ranma let out a little laugh.  "I suppose that one is kinda my fault.  It all started about a year and a half ago.  This was during the trip to China.  Mom had decided that me and Ryoga were at a high enough level where we couldn't really learn anything else from her or Pop.  Pop agreed, more or less, after Mom gave him a good talking to with her katana.  So anyway we were traveling around China on our own when we ran into this village…"

It was a very rural village.  Considering that they were in the Bayankala mountain range it wasn't that surprising.  There were a lot of things like that there.  None the less this didn't steer Ranma and Ryoga from it.  They were low on supplies and had no choice.  Sadly they were low on cash too (at least of the Chinese kind).  They had hoped they could make a deal but…

"Sorry, no handouts," a vendor said to them in mandarin.

"But how can you let two innocent boys like us starve to death!" Ryoga demanded.  He, like Ranma, spoke pretty good Chinese due to Nodoka's near obsession with them both knowing the way of the warrior as well as the scholar.  It was the manly thing to do, after all.

"Listen kid, this town's got enough trouble.  We don't need any beggars walking around.  Get lost!"

And so Ranma and Ryoga found themselves up the creek without a paddle.  The pony tailed boy looked at his old friend.  "I guess we're pretty screwed then, huh?  Geez, I wonder what their problem is?"

Ryoga exploded at this.  "I'll tell you what their problem is: They're evil, mean and stingy!"

"No, dummy," Ranma replied. "That guy said 'this town's got enough problems.'  What do you think he meant?"

"I'll gladly tell you, boys"

Both martial artists turned around to see a kindly old man looking at them.  His face was tired, and his hair was as white as it could possibly get.  "This town, you see, has been under attack for the last six months."

Ryoga looked at the old guy in shock.  "Th-that's impossible!"  The old man merely nodded but before he could reply the lost boy cut him off.  "You mean to tell me you speak perfect Japanese?!"

Disgusted by Ryoga's ability to get "off track" on the subject at, Ranma and the old man nearly fell face first to the ground.  "That's not the point, you young fool!  I'm trying to help you.  As I was saying, this village has been under the attack by a monster.  Some sort of demon cow, I'd wager."

Ranma gave the old man an odd look.  "Demon cow?  That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Dumb or not, high on the mountain on the outskirts of this town you can hear its tortured mooing.  Every few weeks the creature flies down and steals our food!  The weapon's shop arranged a reward for the man who can take that creature down, but alas, every warrior who has dared ventured up there has retuned defeated.  If you two could somehow succeed where others have failed then you would certainly win that prize and earn enough funds to purchase supplies."

The two boys looked at each other, then back at the old man.  It was Ranma who spoke first.  "Why exactly are you telling us this, old timer?"

The old man just laughed.  "Don't you worry about that, Ranma.  Just do as you're told."  With that he walked away from the two young martial artists without so much as a "goodbye" or a "good luck."

Ranma scratched his head.  "Well that was strange," he commented.  And of course he couldn't help but wonder how the old man knew his name.

Despite the weirdness of the encounter, Ranma and Ryoga decided that some "Demon Cow" was no match for them.  So they ventured toward the small mountain right outside the town boarders.  It was an uneventful trip for the most part (Ryoga kept having flashbacks of the Lion Cub's Fist training that Genma had put him through when he was younger).  They eventually made it to the top only to find what appeared to be someone's campsite.  There was a rather large tent and a place that could have been used to make a fire.  There was no one around however, thus making the two boys suspicious of the old man's story.  If there was a monster here why would someone set up camp?

"Maybe the monster got him already," Ryoga suggested.  That would have been very sad, but also a strong possibility of being true.  

The two examined the place for clues, but it wasn't until Ranma checked the tent that they found something.  The pony tailed fighter discovered a wallet and several packages of pantyhose.  At first they thought "Okay, maybe there was a girl here."  However after expecting the wallet they found a driver license that proved other wise.  

"A picture of a guy with the name 'Pantyhose Taro.'  What kind of a name is that?" Ranma asked.  His friend just shrugged.  It didn't make a lot of sense, of course.

"Maybe the guy has a fetish," Ryoga suggested, pointing to the packages of pantyhose they found.

Their questions would soon be answered when they were suddenly joined by another young man.  They hadn't noticed him until he announced his presence by yelling "Who the hell are you?"  He seemed more annoyed then angry.

Both Ranma and Ryoga jumped.  It was the same guy in the picture.

It was the bandana clad fighter who spoke first.  "Pantyh-"

"Don't say it!" the new arrival growled, cutting Ryoga off.  It was then he noticed Ranma had his wallet.  He quickly snatched it from him.  After making sure nothing was missing he turned back to the intruders.  "You guys are the worse thieves I've ever met.  Now get lost before I rip you each a new asshole."

Neither Ranma nor Ryoga cared for this guy's attitude.  They could tell he was a martial artist; the way he carried himself gave it away.  He seemed like he was so confident (Dare they say "cocky") in his own abilities that he didn't see ether of them as a threat.

"Look here, pal," Ryoga barked.  "We're only here so we can beat up the Demon Cow or whatever the hell it is."

Before Ryoga could continue the Chinese fighter let a laugh.  "Demon Cow?  Is that what those idiot villagers are saying?  That's hilarious."

Both Japanese martial artist looked attach other before looking at the boy they believed was named "Pantyhose Taro."    "You've seen the thing around here?" Ranma asked.

"None of you business," was the reply.  "I thought I told you assholes to beat it."

Ryoga was really starting to lose his temper at this guy's rude attitude.  "Hey you jerk, don't take it out on us just because you got a pantyhose fetish!"

This caused the rude fighter's eye to twitch.  This did not go unnoticed by Ranma, who was equally upset over the guy's attitude.  It was obvious that the pantyhose he kept was a soft spot for this guy.  "Relax Ryoga.  Let's just leave 'Pantyhose Taro' here to play whatever perverted game he's got going on."

This did not sit were with the green clothes clad fighter.  "You bastard…!  You must got one hell of a death wish, you son of a bitch!"

Ranma, whose own ego and macho pride was swelling at this point, gave his trademark cocky grin.  "I ain't all that worried, 'Pantyhose.'  I mean how tough can a guy who actually calls himself that be?"

Taro looked as if he was being consumed with rage.  His eyes were practically on fire.  "That's it, you pony tailed piece of shit!  I'm gonna kill you!"  With that he launched himself at the Saotome Heir.

The fight was pretty even.  Taro was very good, but of course so was Ranma.   The Chinese boy was almost as strong as Ryoga and a bit faster.  This caused Ranma to have to work extremely hard to keep from getting seriously hurt, but once the pig tailed fighter got used to the boy's patter he started gaining the upper hand.

After a while it seemed as if Ranma was going to win.  Suddenly, though, Taro backed off.  "I guess you're a little better then I thought."

Ranma just smirked.  "Of course.  Don't you know that Ranma Saotome never loses?"

The Chinese fighter gave is own grin.  "We'll see about that.  A lot of people have said that about me too.  In fact I'll take both you assholes on at once."

Ryoga laughed at that remark.  "Yeah right.  You can't even get the upper hand on Ranma. How are you gonna take both of us on?"

By this time Taro had grabbed a flask from his tent.  Once again facing the two fighters from Japan he coldly smiled and smile that would make grown men shudder.  "Like this."

With that he poured the liquid on himself.

"Turns out he was the monster," Ranma continued.  "Some wired mix of animals.  I later realized he had to be from Jusenkyo and he was cursed just like Pop and me.  According the guide there's only one spring that he could have fallen into to get that curse: Spring of Drowned Yeti Riding a Bull while carrying an eel and crane.  Mixed all together you get a super strong flying creature."

As Kasumi returned from the kitchen with the tea, her father gave a questioning glance at the pony tailed boy.  "So, did you defeat this 'Pantyhose Taro' person?"

Ranma smirked.  "Your damn right we beat that jerk. It wasn't easy but Ryoga and I were able to bring him down."

Genma-Griffin simply nodded as he poured his cup of tea over himself, returning him to human.  "I see.  So this Pantyhose fellow is just a prideful fighter who wants to regain his honor by beating you."

The pony tailed fighter looked a bit sheepish at this.  "Umm, well kinda.  I mean, we may have done something else to him but he's really just being a big baby about it…"

To this, his father's eyes narrowed.  "What did you do, boy?"

"Well, we may have, sort of, kind of dragged his unconscious body back to town, tied him against a rock that we painted 'Hi, my name is Pantyhose Taro and I'm stupid' on it and place it in the middle of town for everyone to see."

To this all three listeners starred at the Saotome Heir with a blank expression.  It was Kasumi who spoke first.  "That wasn't very nice, Ranma."

"Hey, the guy was the biggest jerk we'd ever seen," Ranma defended.  "He had it coming.  It was justified."

Genma just shook his head.  How could Ranma have had all these experiences without him knowing about them?

"So that's that," The pony tailed boy announced as he stood up from the table.  "I'll be in the dojo.  Let me know when dinner's ready."

Soun was annoyed at this.  "Wait just a minute, son.  You haven't explained about the bounty on your head."

Ranma shrugged.  "I have no idea why there's a bounty on my head. Emily Tisdale is rich, maybe she put it on."  With that he calmly walked out of the room toward the dojo, not bothering to look at the obviously unsatisfied expressions on the two older men.

Kasumi simply starred at the boy, as if she knew he was still hiding something.

Ranma's absence from school had not gone unnoticed, and it rather annoyed both Tendo sisters.  The newly established "Ranma Saotome Fan Club" (made up of the many girls at the school who had developed crushes on the pony tailed fighter) would practically mug Akane and Nabiki for information every chance they got.

Even though Nabiki was making decent earnings selling information as well as photographs she was incredibly annoyed with these girls.  The funny thing was she wasn't sure why.  Sure, she could admit she was attracted to Ranma, but the fact was that he was more trouble then he was worth.  He had only been here a short time but he already had gotten her involved with his questionable and dangerous past.  It just wasn't right.

But the so-called "Ice Queen" of Furikan High couldn't help herself.  Ranma had shown genuine romantic interest in her, something most boys at school wouldn't do because of her reputation.  Having a normal boyfriend would be nice change. 

For the past three days she avoided Ranma, which wasn't too difficult since he was mostly in his room.  She wanted to sort out her feelings for the boy; weighing the pros and cons of getting involved with the pony tailed boy.  Today was no exception.  During her lunch period she was preoccupied with the internal conflict, thus she had her lackeys do the normal "routine" of blackmail, extorting and other business deals.  Nabiki found herself eating her bento alone at the tree where she had initially found Ranma earlier.  It was a nice spot, just as it had been before.  Unfortunately she would not be able to enjoy the quiet for much longer.

"Greetings, Nabiki Tendo," the familiar voice of Tatewaki Kuno bellowed.  Kuno had been absent for a while now.  In fact the only time Nabiki had seen him was at the junkyard three days ago when he failed to defeat Emily Tisdale.

"Kuno, what a pleasant surprise," she lied.  "What brings you here today?"

The self titled "Blue Thunder" showed no signs of emotions.  "I require the status of Ranma Saotome.  Is he well?  I had heard the rumors that he laid broken in a hospital bed."

Nabiki rolled her eyes.  Ranma was too stubborn to go to a hospital, claiming his injured would heal on there own given time.  "He's as well as can be expected.  But lemme ask you something, Kuno-baby: What's with this weird crush you've had on Ranma lately anyway?"

This caused Kuno irritation.  Nabiki of course was referring to the interest the kendoist had had with Ranma even since the pony tailed boy had mopped the floor with him in a sword fight.  "Crush?  You dare accuse the mighty Blue Thunder of such a thing?  I say thee nay!  I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offenses at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in..."

Nabiki cut him off.  "If you're going to go on speaking nonsense I'm going to have to charge you by the minute for taking up my precious time."

Kuno was offended at this, but he nodded.  He handed her an envelope.  "Very well, vile Nabiki.  I shall be brief:  Please pass this letter on to Saotome."

Before he could walk away in a dramatic fashion Nabiki stopped him.  "That'll be a 5,000 yen delivery fee, Kuno-baby."

The dark haired boy just starred at the middle Tendo daughter.  "You do realize I hate you."

"My heart bleeds.  Cash please."

Later that day at the dojo Ranma was training; just as he had been doing all day.  He had decided that it may be too dangerous to stick around in Nerima, so he'd need to do something about the engagement and do it fast.   Luckily he had that plan he bought from Nabiki; train Akane in the Saotome style and thus unite the schools.  He just needed an opportunity to do so without looking suspicious.  Genma would never agree to this arrangement and if Soun was anything like the old man he wouldn't either.  

But there was something else that troubled him.

"I know you better then you think, Ranma the Demon of Joketsuzoku!"  That was what that idiot Sin had said to him.  What did he mean?  Why did he call him that?  What did this person have to do with the amazons who resided there?  Did this have to do with the bounty on his head?  There were so many questions that he didn't have answers and for no they couldn't be answered without information.  Of course it was only a matter of time before someone would come to fill in the holes.  He'd have to be patient.

He was left with no time to ponder the problem more as his thoughts were interrupted by the detection of Kasumi who had at that moment come into the dojo.  As Ranma turned to meet her he saw that her face was covered in various emotions making it hard to read her.  The heir to the Saotome School had noticed something very interesting about the girl: she was either very dimwitted or insanely talented in masking and detecting emotions.  He had begun to believe the latter due to the fact she had picked up on his inner angst hat he had been able to hide from his own father.

Though she seemed sort of oblivious and uncaring at first Ranma realized was ready to admit that Kasumi could be at least as intelligent as her sister Nabiki and even better at masking her feelings with her cheerful demeanor.

"What's up, Kasumi?" he asked with a warm smile.  Of course he had an idea what this was about.

The older girl, whose face was mixed with emotions and all of them negative, took a deep breath before saying "I'd like to ask you about Tenma."

Ranma closed his eyes.  He had hoped he wouldn't have to tell anyone about this; that he wouldn't be there long enough for it to matter.  He intended to tell the girl it was none of her business again, but this time was different.  As he starred at the girl he saw the worry in her eyes.  For whatever reason the boy felt like he could trust Kasumi with this secret (or anything for that matter).

After what seemed like forever Ranma looked directly into the oldest Tendo sister's eyes.  "Aright.  I'll tell you everything."

The boy sat down on the floor and motioned for Kasumi to join him.  She complied and found a spot right next to him.  "It started…right after we buried mom.  Ryoga and I left to continue our training.  But truthfully I was an emotional wreck.  I was in a constant state of either anger or depression.  I kept talking 'bout suicide.  But most of all I wanted the amazon who killed my mother dead!"

Kasumi gasp at that.  Ranma cursed under his breath; he had forgotten that he had told Nabiki about that part, not her sister.  So he related to the death of Nodoka Saotome and the controversy surrounding it.  Now understanding, the older girl urged him to continue.

"Anyway I guess Ryoga couldn't stand seeing me like that. So at some point he came across this weird statue.  He said he got it form some old man.  It was a magical item, he said, that would rid someone of strong negative emotions."

Kasumi wasn't exactly sure where he was going with this but she nodded politely none the less.

"I didn't believe it, of course.  It sounded pretty stupid, even though I'd seen my fair share of magic by then.  But low and behold it started glowing as soon as I touched it.  Technically though you could say it didn't work…

"There was a flash of light, so strong that it nearly blinded me.  When the light stopped there was a guy, who looked about fifteen or sixteen, lying on the ground.  And he had my face.  He looked exactly like me.  Well, I guess his eyes were grey instead of blue but besides that yeah."

The listener's eyes opened wide.  "You mean there was another you?"  Ranma nodded.  However Kasumi looked as if she didn't believe him.  "How is that possible?"

"Magic, I guess."  Looking on at Kasumi's expression the boy gave a light smile. "Don't tell me it's any less believable than a guy who changes genders when hit by water or his father who turns into a mythical monster."

Feeling a bit silly for her momentary disbelief she let him continue.

"So there was the guy who looked exactly like me laying there on the ground unconscious.  He was like some kind of perfect copy.  We brought him back to where we were camped and waited for him to come to.  When he did he looked directly at me and 'I see, so I'm not the real Ranma.'  I'll never forget that; he seemed really sad when he said it.  It turned out he had all of my memories up to when I touched the statue.  He explained that even though he had my memories there was a strong feeling in his soul that told him he wasn't the 'real Ranma Saotome.'  He said he didn't know how to put it in words.  All he could say was that he was more certain that he was a fake than anything else."

Kasumi eyes again widen in surprise.  What was it Ryoga had said when he and Ranma had that brief argument the night Nabiki was kidnapped?  "He was a shadow, not a human."  He was referring to…

"That 'copy' was…Tenma?" 

Ranma nodded.  "That was the name he eventually started calling himself.  He said it wouldn't be right to call himself 'Ranma' since we all knew he wasn't.  So he asked to be called Tenma Saotome so he could be considered a different person.  That was real important to him, being known as a different person than me"

The eldest Tendo daughter wasn't sure what to think. It was like a twist in a bad soap opera; Ranma and Tenma, long lost twin brothers.  "So this Tenma person was another you?"

Ranma shook his head.  He wore a slight smile, as if he was recalling fond yet old memories.  "At first we thought that too.  He was even as strong as me.  I mean we were seriously dead even.  After I gave him some clothes Ryoga and I said he could tag along on our trip if he wanted to.  After a while we figured out Tenma was actually a lot different from me; he was a lot more likely to pick fights with people, he acted kinda cold to pretty much everyone, and he hardly ever talked. He was always sitting or standing somewhere thinking about who knows what.  He was the one who figured it out: the statue didn't take someone's negative emotions away, it 'physically manifested them into a new body,' is how he put it."

Kasumi was trying to keep up but it was actually pretty confusing.  "So all the sadness and anger you felt about your mother was taken from you and was turned into Tenma?"

The pony tailed martial artist shrugged.  "I guess. But I didn't feel any happier after it happened so I don't know.  But basically Tenma was like a more…mean version of me.  But he was a real good guy.  In fact most of the fights he got into were because he was saving some guy from getting beat on or sticking up for some kid or old person.  He hated seeing people picking on guys weaker than them, just like I do.  He was really into the whole 'martial artists should protect the weak' thing.  He was just…overly violent about it."

"Oh my, what do you mean?" the listener asked with immense interest. 

Ranma scratched his head.  "Let's just say he doesn't hold back in a fight.  I guess he was kinda of a hypocrite.  But anyway he and I got along really well, I thought.  I mean we had the same memories but we were different enough that we weren't exactly the same.  I only knew him a month but I consider Tenma one of m closet friends.  Hell, he was pretty much my brother, I guess.

"But…Tenma had issues.  He never talked about it, but he was really upset over mom getting killed and extremely pissed at the amazon who did it.  In fact he hated amazons in general.  I knew he wanted payback, I did too, but he was really general about it. He once said to me that it wasn't just the one amazon's fault, it was her society and its laws."

Ranma paused a short while.  Kasumi could tell he was trying to contain himself emotionally.  It was obvious he was about to relate to the subject of Tenma's demise and his part in it.  It was, as it had been as long as she had known him, an extremely sensitive subject after all.

"So," Ranma said after a while.  "After about a month of training we went to this one training spot on top of a particularly high mountain.  Tenma comes up to me with this map he had bought a while ago. It showed exactly where the amazon village was.  I was pretty close to where we were.  He wanted to go there and do something to them.  Maybe poison their water supply or maybe set a bunch of fires.  It was crazy and I told him so. But he just got upset.  He wanted them to pay.  He said he wanted that they needed to pay for their crimes.  I was afraid he'd get a lot of people who didn't have anything to do with it hurt.  Maybe killed.  So I tried to stop him.  Then he hit me.  I don't know what got into me but I hit him back and before you knew it we were at each other's throats.  Even Ryoga couldn't pull us apart.  It got really intense at one point and we…we were too close to the edge…"

Again Ranma paused.  After a short while he continued.  "I knocked him off the edge.  I feel back…I was able to grab his arm but…he just looked at me and said 'It's better this way' and just let go…"

The memory of the even was so intense he didn't notice his own tears.  "I…I killed him.  He died because of the argument.  I don't care what Ryoga says, he was a living breathing human.  He didn't deserve to die like that.  I shouldn't have fought him; I should have been quicker to pull him back up…"

Before he could continue with his speech he found himself being embraced.  Kasumi had wrapped her arms around the pony tailed boy in hi vulnerable state.  She pulled him lose and spoke softly into his ears.  "It wasn't your fault, Ranma.  It was a horrible situation.  You aren't a murderer…"  She said nothing after tat and continued to hold him.

Ranma was shocked.  He had fully expected her to think he was a monster, a reckless little boy who made the ultimate mistake.  However she was being so kind and so understanding.  This was the first time Ranma had ever opened up to anyone.  Closing his eyes he and hugged back on instinct.

He was so wrapped up in his emotions that he failed to notice the girl standing in the doorway.

Nabiki walked away from the dojo, not certain as to what just happened.  She had just gotten home and s ready to give Ranma his letter from Kuno, but when she got there she found Ranma crying in Kasumi's arms.  Usually she would have taken a picture to use in some sort of blackmail scheme…but for some reason she felt sick and needed to get away from there.  The next day she'd come to her senses and try to figure out logically why Ranma and her sister were in that embrace…but tonight she really needed to be alone.

To be continued…

Author's note:  Well I guess it's been a long while, huh?  Does anyone even remember this story?  Oh well.  To make up for the long absence you get this slightly larger than normal chapter and revisions for chapters 1-5.  You'll notice that I've taken a few things out, added a few things.  I'm sure it's by no means perfect yet, but we'll get there.

Anywho today's chapter finally explains who Tenma is.  However even more questions are brought up.  Questions that won't be answered for a few chapters.   While it's obvious that Tenma is connected to the opening scene we don't know for certain how.  You may think you do, but you don't.   Stay tuned.

Next Chapter:  Ranma is all healed up and everything gets back to normal.  Except that there's this girl with a black rose causing problems.  Also Mousse and Sin continue plotting and the amazons make their move.


	7. Interruptions

_Disclaimer: Ranma ½ was created by Rumiko Takahashi. I had nothing to do with it. Please do not sue me for I don't write frequently enough to matter._

"Mom's dead. I just found out a few days ago. She was murdered. Not in a fight even; she was poisoned! I…don't know exactly who did it but witnesses told me it was an amazon named "Lotion." What's considered an amazon in China anyway? A woman warrior? A female assassin? Right now all the information I have about them is that they're a group of women strong in the martial arts. Whatever. Mom deserved better than that. She deserved better than to be poisoned by a coward!"

-Brief passage form the journal of Ranma Saotome

**The Story Thus Far:** Ranma Saotome trained not only with his father for the ten year training voyage but also his mother Nodoka, a kendo master, and Ryoga Hibiki. As a result he became much more adjusted, intelligent and skillful than he would have he been alone with Genma. This "new" Ranma is smart, clever and almost perfect in everything he does. However despite this, or rather because of this, he has made some powerful enemies including Emily Tisdale, a werewolf in love with Ryoga, and Pantyhose Taro, a cursed martial artist with a grudge against him.

Now he is engaged to Akane Tendo and has befriended her sisters Kasumi and Nabiki. But it doesn't take long before his past catches up with him. Amazons and bounty hunters are after him for reasons unclear even to Ranma. And then there's this "Demon of Joketsuzoku" business…

**Last Chapter:** Ranma related some of his past experiences to Kasumi including that Tenma, the name he has suffered over since he first came to the dojo, was actually some sort of magical copy of him. Tenma died during a dispute with Ranma over how they should go about avenging Nodoka's death. He blames himself for it and has been brooding ever since.

**Chapter 7**

**Interruptions**

A week after his fight with Sin Ranma decided it was time for him to return to his normal routine. The Tendo house had become an all too familiar sight lately. The pony tailed youth needed to spend his days away from this place; interact with someone other than Kasumi and Soun. Not to say the eldest Tendo sister wasn't good company. After Ranma spilled his guts a few days earlier the older girl had been amazingly supportive; so much that the young man felt like she was one of his best friends.

However despite his newfound friendship there was no reason for Ranma to remain at the Tendo Dojo to recover. Dr. Tofu had visited and explained that Ranma was mostly fine, but should try not to get into any major fights for about a week. Therefore the pony tailed fighter planned to return to school today and finally start his part time job with the good doctor. The morning paved the way back to normality when Ranma easily defeated his father in a sparring match (though it had to be limited so the boy wouldn't strain himself). Once the fight was over the joined clans of Tendo and Saotome sat down together for breakfast.

Something that hadn't returned to normal was Nabiki's lack of contact to the boy. At first Ranma thought it may have just been her feeling awkward after the events she went through. However her continuing decision to not talk to him made the Saotome Heir wonder if it was something else. Perhaps Nabiki had decided that Ranma was too dangerous to be around and that staying as far from him as possible was the best way to keep her from being caught up in his problems. That was the most logical reasoning, but was that it? He wasn't sure.

To further his curiosity on the subject Nabiki left the table as soon as she was done with her meal; she said she had important business at school. The middle Tendo was a master at hiding her emotions but Ranma was becoming much better at reading her masks every time he looked at her. He decided that he'd talk to her later in the day.

It wasn't long until Ranma found himself walking along his fiancée toward Furinkan High. Unlike her sister Akane wasn't avoiding the boy at all. In fact ever since he started showing signs of getting better the youngest Tendo had bombarded him with questions regarding his past. This morning was no different.

"Why won't you tell me more about it?!' Akane would demand.

And Ranma would reply "I told you enough already. Get over it."

Akane wasn't amused by Ranma's attitude. "I know you told Kasumi something about your past, but she won't tell me anything."

"Uh huh," was the reply.

This didn't help ease the girl's anger. "Don't 'uh huh' me, Ranma! Three people come to town to kill you, one says there's a bounty on you and the other two were monsters. I want to know why there are people after you!"

The pony tailed youth rolled his eyes. "You already know why." Ranma hated to repeat himself, especially when they had to do with his past. Luckily (sort of) he didn't have to since Soun had blabbed the entire story of Emily and Taro. Thankfully the story about Tenma was of course still a secret between Ranma, Kasumi and the still absent Ryoga.

"But," Akane continued. "You still haven't explained why there's a bounty on your head!"

Unlike his fiancée Ranma was actually pretty calm. In fact during this whole conversation he barely even looked at Akane. "I told you I don't know why I have a bounty. I'm really getting sick of having this conversation again and again."

Akane fumed at this. Losing her temper she rose to strike the boy for being such a jerk. To her surprise Ranma effortlessly blocked the attack with his forearm. He looked at her with sad eyes that instantly made her regret her action. Slowly she backed off.

"I told you everything I can right now," was the boy's reply to the attack. He resumed the walk to school. "Let's not kill each over this, okay?"

The youngest Tendo simply stood there as Ranma continued on to school. He did not usually act his way with her. At the most he'd insult her but that would be it. This reaction was a first. It was then she had realized her mistake: she had known Ranma had some issues with his past but she had gotten used to him to the point here had forgotten that aspect. She silently promised to be more understanding of him from now on. He was a jerk, but she still considered him somewhat of a friend. A little.

"I haven't written in a while. Something really weird has been going on the last couple weeks. It started when Ryoga used this magic item thing on me. Next thing I know there's a guy with my face starring at me. His eyes were different but besides that he was...me. His name is Tenma and he's got all my memories. He's actually a pretty nice guy, except he's…cold, I guess. Really cold. He's been traveling with us since then. It's really interesting to spar with someone who literally knows all your moves. I wonder what Pop will say when he meets him."

-Brief passage from the Journal of Ranma Saotome.

Lunch time came around. That's when things started becoming annoying for Ranma. After waking up from his History Lecture he immediately went off in search of Nabiki. He still felt he needed to talk to her about what had happened. However as soon as he walked out of the building he became distracted by a large group of females. All of them had odd, lustful looks and each carried a bento.

"Hi Ranma," they all said at once. It was creepy to say the least.

"Um, hi," was the reply.

"I made an extra lunch. Do you want it?" One said

"Hey, I made lunch for him!" Said another.

"No way, he's eating mine!" Yet another suggested.

At this point it became clear that every girl here had made Ranma lunch. Despite the fact that his baser instincts told him that he should take all their food and happily consume them he managed to resist it. Instead he asked "Uh, I'm gonna have to pass. I'm looking for someone."

All of the girls looked disappointed. One of them stood forward. "We are the newly formed Ranma Saotome Fan Club. We've been waiting for you to come back to school."

The young fighter raised his eyebrow at this. "Ranma Saotome Fan Club?"

"Yes," she continued. "We've all watched you since you first came here."

"It was so cool the way you beat Kuno all those times!"

"Just seeing you move…it's so…so…"

"Beautiful!"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"You're so calm and mysterious!"

"And exotic!"

At his point Ranma countered by putting his hands in a "T-shaped" position. "Time out ladies. You aren't serious about this, are you?"

They all nodded.

"You all heard I'm engaged to Akane by now, right?"

They all nodded.

"We've heard you two don't get along," one said

"She even admitted that you two are being forced by your parents," said another

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose. He was flattered to be sure, but this was just as bad as all the boys attacking Akane every morning. Plus with of them looking at him like with those big eager eyes it was just plain spooky . He didn't have a lot of time to waste with these girls. He needed a distraction….

Pointing off into the distance Ranma yelled in shock "Hey, isn't that a mysterious and angst ridden pretty boy who just transferred to the school?"

The crowd of girls quickly turned toward where Ranma had pointed all of them unable to contain their interest. However once they realized it was a lie the Saotome Heir had vanished.

Things didn't get better that day. Ranma ended up dodging this new threat, this so-called "Ranma Saotome Fan Club" during any type of break the pony tailed youth got during the day. Of course Ranma was flattered; in fact he understood their feelings. After all he was the one and only Ranma Saotome. However they kept getting in the way in what would be the relatively simple task of finding and talking to Nabiki. Eventually school ended, but even so in a combined effort of the middle Tendo sister rushing off campus (Probably to avoid him) and this fan club getting one last mob rush in (Which made Akane avoid him as well) the young martial artist found the day to be a total waste.

He should have headed back to the Tendo Training Hall; he and Nabiki needed to clear the air sooner than later. He still didn't know what was wrong, or at least wasn't exactly sure. Sadly he absolutely needed to start his part time job with Dr. Tofu, as his injuries had made him unable to start sooner. Nabiki would have to wait.

And so now here Ranma was, sweeping the front entrance of the clinic. It seemed that by "assistant" Dr. Tofu meant janitor. It wasn't exactly thrilling but he had already made the agreement and couldn't back out of it no. Sighing he looked at his handy work. "Seems clean enough," he mused to himself as he headed back inside. There weren't any patients right now as the waiting room was empty. Making his way into the back he found his glasses wearing employer seated and reading a newspaper.

"Oh, done already I see," the friendly doctor said smiling at the young man. "You are a very hard worker."

Ranma just shrugged. "It ain't like it's complicated work or nothing."

Tofu continued to smile. "I suppose. Sorry if it's a little boring. I promise it'll get more interesting eventually." With that the doctor yawned. "Boy, I'm tired. I bet we could both use a break."

Ranma raised an eyebrow, as Tofu hadn't actually done any work since he arrived two hours ago.

The brown haired martial artist excused himself into his bedroom, returning a minute later with a little money. "Why don't you get us some snacks? This should be enough to cover both of us."

The pony tailed youth shrugged, accepting the money. As he left the clinic he stopped by a garden hose and proceeded to splash himself instantly turning him into a girl. Ranma wasn't sure if the doc would condone her using her female form to get free food but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He'd just have t remember to return the money before he went home.

Back in the clinic Dr. Tofu was in deep thought. Ranma had come along very nicely. The boy was strong to be sure. He had been afraid his injuries may affect his plans, but luckily the Heir to the Saotome School proved to be an amazingly fast healer. Yes, Ranma would do. They had made a good choice when they picked him.

Everything was going according to plan, and the good doctor couldn't help but smile at that.

"Hey, don't you think that's enough," Ranma sneered at her new opponent, clutching the black haired girl's ribbon with disdain. Things had not gone according to plan for the now red-headed pony tailed girl. She had managed to score a great deal of free food, ensuring that she and Tofu wouldn't have to buy any snacks for at least a week. However on her way back to the clinic she found this…girl being attacked by four men, seemingly hiding their identities in bandages. Ranma would have intervened on the girl's behalf if she hadn't brutally beaten her aggressors. The cursed martial artist ended up having to save the attackers from the victim!

The black haired girl had an intrigued look. She wore a school uniform Ranma didn't recognize, but realistically didn't care wither way. "You...stopped my ribbon. Interesting. You are no ordinary girl."

Ranma smiled her cocky grin. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

The mysterious black haired girl snapped her ribbon from out of Ranma's hand, an action that surprised the Chinese clothes clad girl. This chick wasn't bad. "I am Kodachi the Black Rose. I'm sure we'll meet again. OHOHOHOHO!" With that Ranma found herself blinded by a barrage of black rose pedals. When the pedals subsided Kodachi was gone.

Ranma couldn't help but be impressed. That exit was kinda cool. In fact that girl would be cute if she didn't have that horrible laugh. Plus she reminded her of someone…

"Thanks for saving us," a sobbing while at the same time high pitched voice called out. Ranma turned to see the guys she rescued crying.

"Um, don't worry about it," was her response. "But you guys really shouldn't mess with someone stronger than you."

Seemingly upset at being called guys, the bandaged attackers tore off their coverings revealing to in fact be girls. Girls in Ranma's class actually.

Nerima was weird.

"Tenma's a great guy. I mean, yeah, he's supposed to be me, but he's not. It's weird. But anyway, yeah he's awesome. Yesterday we were in a village and we saw these two big guys messing with a restaurant owner. Tenma beat the shit out both of them for 'picking on the weak.' They guy has got one serious sense of duty. Ryoga's been saying he's like an evil clone of me or something. He ain't evil. Just cold. Very, very…very cold."

- Brief passage form the journal of Ranma Saotome

Soap was not, nor had she ever been, nor would she probably ever become, a patient person. Her teacher, Towel, had always tried to steer the young warrior toward that path but something like patience takes years to master if you lack it. Sadly Towel had died before she could give the young blonde any more lessons. In fact both her parents, older brother, friends and pretty much everyone close to her were completely slaughtered very recently. Any sane person would have been using this time to mourn. However Soap was amazon, which meant two things: 1) She was a warrior by trade and had no time to think about the dead while her enemies still breathed and 2) Probably wasn't too stable in the mental department.

In all seriousness even her battle hardened teacher often said Soap probably was not playing with a full deck, even by amazon standards.

Currently, inside the apartment her band of "sisters" were able to secure while in Nerima, the blonde Chinese girl (An interesting mix) was playing with a knife. She did this daily; daydreaming about the various things she could do to Ranma Saotome. She could gut him, maybe even slit his throat. Perhaps she could just blind him. That'd be poetic justice: the Demon of Joketsuzoku forced to live in this world as a helpless cripple…

Of course as soon as she thought the words "Demon of Joketsuzoku" she deadpanned. Ranma wiped everyone out at their village. He was no man but a demon is disguise. She wasn't a match for him and would probably never be able to make those daydreams come true. How depressing.

At that moment the pink haired, and highly attractive, Comb (leader of their party) entered the room. She was, like Soap, seventeen. Despite her young age she was put in charge of this mission for two very important reasons: 1) She was the most qualified in term of skill and rank to do so and 2) Alive, which was more than you could say for the majority of the rest of the Chinese amazon community. Of course Cologne would have preferred someone with more experience in charge but beggars can't be choosers. The older Lotion would have made a good choice if she hadn't...well, that's another story.

Comb scanned the room. No sign of their companion whatsoever. Not good. " Where's Lotion? " She asked her subordinate in mandarin.

" Don't know. Don't really care either. " Was the matter-of-fact reply. Soap hadn't even bothered to take her eyes off her knife.

Comb swore. Lotion wasn't here. But where the hell did she go? They were supposed to be keeping a low profile after all!

" Any word from Elder Cologne? Soap asked, again not looking up.

The pink haired amazon sighed. Soap clearly was itching to attack Saotome. " No, none. I thought she would have sent a reply by now. "

Soap nodded but said nothing. She simply continued to ignore the world around her. Comb was somewhat thankful. Her companion wasn't the best company. Still she had to wonder…

Where the hell did Lotion go?

Ranma's walk home from work was uneventful. He was thankful for that, considering all that happened that day. It would seem that no matter what he did there'd always be something causing him grief. As the young martial artist approached the Tendo dojo he wondered if things could get any more stressful today.

Of course as soon as he said that he heard a noise form a nearby rooftop. Turning quickly and scanning the area Ranma found….nothing. He was sure he had heard something but….maybe he was just tired. With that he continued on home.

From the said rooftop Lotion cursed herself for not being for stealthy. She'd had to be more careful.

Walking through the front door of the Tendo house Ranma immediately was surprised to see who was sitting facing the doorway.

"Ryoga!"

The bandana clad youth was indeed there, his clothes torn and dirty. His facial expression suggested exhaustion. "I suffered to get back here, you know."

Ranma shrugged, not appearing to have any sympathy. "But you got back here, so what's the problem?"

The fanged boy stood up angrily at that, grabbing Ranma by the collar. "And whose fight was it that got me lost in the first place?!"

"A minor detail," was the somewhat cocky response of the pony tailed boy.

Ryoga sneered at that. "That's it! I'll beat an apology out of you for my troubles!"

Now Dr. Tofu had advised that Ranma not get into any big fights so soon after his recent ordeal but on the other hand he owed Ryoga for that loss a while back…

"As if you could actually lay a finger on me."

Needless to say within two minutes the two training partners were scrambling toward the dojo. Upon reaching the door they both got caught trying to squeeze through the door at once, both yelling at the other to move. Finally breaking through the door they were suddenly stopped dead in their tracks by what they saw: Akane, who appeared to have accidentally tied herself up with a ribbon while practicing.

Red in the face at being caught Akane simply said "A little help."

With that both young men burst into laughter.

A little while later, after Akane pounded on her two houseguests for being jerks, it was explained that the youngest Tendo had agreed to sub for the school's martial arts rhythm gymnastics team which seemed like an odd thing for the girl to agree to.

"Well," Ryoga began. "You're clumsy."

"What?!" was Akane's reply.

"What? You want me to lie?" Ryoga continued, now raising an eyebrow. "I'm not exactly sure what made you think that you were graceful enough to do to this but you're not. Oh God you're not."

The youngest Tendo began fuming. She couldn't really understand why Ryoga was being such a jerk. She would have almost certainly bashed his head in with a timely mallet, were it not for her catching Raman's eyes. There was something about them that were…soothing; he was in fact looking directly into her own. She found herself feeling like he should take a breath and cool down. But mostly she felt like Ranma had something to say. So she let him talk.

"Akane," he started. "Do you need any help?"

Both Ryoga and Akane froze in shock. It was Akane who asked first. "What do you know about gymnastics?"

"Martial Arts Rhythm Gymnastics," he corrected. The two continued looking on with blank expressions. "What? You don't believe me."

Their continued silence prompted the young martial artist to pick up a ribbon. With a grace neither other teen thought very probable Ranma demonstrates an incredible skill with the unlikely weapon. In fact at some point it seemed he spelled out the phrase "Fair Play."

"That's not bad," Ryoga huffed.

Akane was dumbstruck. She never realized that Ranma was this talented. "Where did you learn that?"

"Mom made me learn all sorts of weird styles," Ranma explained as he folded the ribbon back into its proper place. "You should try Martial Arts Tea Ceremony. Very relaxing."

Akane smiled. "This is great! Then you'll help me?"

The Saotome Heir smiled. "Hell, I'll even teach you some tricks to give you an extra advantage."

"Tenma and Ryoga don't get along. Ever since Tenma came around Ryoga didn't trust him. Lately it's been worse. I had to break them up twice before they turned simple sparring into an all out brawl. I really hope they can just...calm down."

- Brief passage form the journal of Ranma Saotome

Akane was too tired to go on that night after a few hours of Ranma pounding the lessons of Martial Arts Gymnastics into her. Ranma for his part was a little worried about Akane's overall lack of speed and grace. In fact he wasn't certain that Akane had a prayer against a trained expert in the sport. But this was part of the plan.

He was in his room, doing some thinking. Everything that happened in the time he's been in Nerima, the time he spent in China, the training voyage in general; all of it has been a train wreck. Things had gotten so bad and the future didn't look very promising. He needed to leave soon and to do that he needed to implement his plan on teaching Akane the Saotome Style of their school; it had been Nabiki's great idea after all to unite the schools under rather than going through with the arranged marriage. This was a great opportunity to get started on training her without looking suspicious. If the old men realized what he was trying to do they'd try some scheme to stop him for sure. Whether the youngest Tendo learns enough of Martial Arts Gymnastics to really give her opponent a workout was irrelevant; the true plan was to make her his student.

Ranma's musings were interrupted by the sound of a someone walking around the hallway outside his door. Judging by the weight on the hardwood floor (Which he could tell by hearing the subtle cracks in the floor) he determined it was a girl who was too short to be Kasumi and too lightweight to be Akane. The pony tailed boy quickly rose to his feet and exited his room to find Nabiki coming from the rest room. The two teenager's eyes met and created an intense awkwardness between the two. It was the middle Tendo daughter who spoke first.

"You need something Saotome?" she asked.

Ranma shook his head. "Not especially. I've started training Akane today."

The so-called Ice Queen made no outward response. It bothered Ranma that even he was having a hard time reading her. "Well good for you. I suppose that means you'll be leaving sooner than later."

"Looks that way," Ranma replied. "Akane's kind of a slow learner so it may be a while but me and the old man shouldn't be bothering ya too much longer." He paused a bit before continuing. "So…you've been avoiding me." It wasn't a question.

Nabiki laughed at that notion. "Don't flatter yourself, Ranma. I'm a busy girl, you know. I don't have time to entertain dumb jocks everyday of the week."

The teenaged martial artist nodded at that. "I guess so. Not that I'd blame you for avoiding me seeing as I'm so dangerous and all." Actually Ranma suspected that Nabiki's sudden mood change had little to do with that. It seems all the Tendo girls had a sort of interesting way of coping with the unusual (Something he noticed earlier) so near death experiences would probably not be something to make any of them hate you. But he hoped that saying that may strike a nerve.

Nabiki was taken aback by that comment. She normally wouldn't have been but she had, as of late, been more flustered than calm and collective around Ranma. "It's not that…it's just that…" She gathered up as much courage as she could for this. This was all sort of new to her; she wasn't accustomed to telling people her true feelings let alone telling boys that she has an intense crush on them and is jealous because they might like her older sister instead. But Nabiki Tendo was not one to turn away from a challenge. "Look Ranma, I saw you and Kasumi the other night."

Ranma's first reaction was nervousness. Did she hear the story about Tenma? Was she upset? Disgusted? Sympathetic? He had to know; it was his most guarded secret after all. "What…What did you hear?"

"I heard-" Nabiki was cut off by the sounds of Akane screaming from her room. Before she even had a chance to react Ranma was gone; darting towards his fiancée's room.

Not bothering to knock the pony tailed martial artists kicked Akane's door open and rushed in only to find the girl being assaulted by a familiar face who was armed with a mallet and apparently bent on injuring the youngest Tendo. "Aw hell, not you again!"

Kodachi the Black Rose eyes narrowed at the sight on the handsome stranger who now stood before her. "An interruption. How dull. And who might you be? I'm certain we've never met before."

Ranma frowned at his inability to think before he talked. "Well…what I mean is that I've heard of you, Flower Girl, and you're just as crazy as my pal with the red hair said you were."

The Black Rose smiled evilly at that. "Red hair? The girl in the pony tail from this afternoon perhaps? Interesting. But you have still not given me your name?"

The pony tailed boy was now certain that this crazy chick reminded him of someone…someone extremely annoying. There was a resemblance to Emily Tisdale, or course, but that wasn't who he was thinking of. "I don't give my name to criminals who break into other people houses in the middle of the night.

Akane looked over towards her fiancé. "I think this is the girl I'm supposed to fight at the competition, Ranma. Look at the way she's dressed"

Kodachi's smile had not yet faded. "Ranma? I see, you do have the look of a Wild Horse about you. I resent your tone though, peasant. I merely came here to ensure that both myself and my opponent fight as equals in all fairness."

"How? By breaking her knees while she's sleeping?" Ranma demanded.

"If need be…yes!" With that Kodachi launched the mallet towards the pony tailed martial artist at a speed that he was barely able to dodge it. The impact against the wall was dangerously large…this girl was good! The gymnasts immediately blinded her new found enemies with black rose pedals and made her escape out of the window. Her voice echoed through the darkness. "We shall meet again Akane Tendo…and you as well Ranma. OHOHOHOHO!"

"Damn it!" Ranma cursed. He grabbed the discarded mallet and attempted to chase down the crazed girl leaving Akane to wonder who was going to clean this mess. The pony tailed martial artist followed his prey to the roof of the Tendo home only to realize that the girl was far enough away from him that he wasn't certain he could catch her. Instead he threw the mallet directly toward her, hitting the girl in the back of the head. Knocked silly the Black Rose found herself falling from the roof. "Oh crap," Ranma noted as she seemed to be falling to her doom…or at least a minor injury. He would have gone after her except the he was distracted by all his senses warning him of danger.

Sure enough Ranma just barely managed to duck a dagger being thrown at him from another rooftop. Looking straight at head he saw a Chinese girl dressed in distinctly Amazon clothing looking at him, roughly three houses over.

" Damn, " Lotion muttered to herself in Chinese. " Missed the mark. "

Forgetting all about Kodachi Ranma made his way closer to the new arrival. "Who the hell are you?"

Lotion looked towards the pony tailed boy before producing a very long and dangerous looking sword. "I am Lotion of Joketsuzoku. And this, demon, will go one of two ways: your death...or mine."

A Ranma's face paled when she mentioned her name. "You...you're that rogue amaozn, aren't you!"

Lotion responded with an icy glare. "After you slaughtered the village I was reinstated. They needed every able body."

It was indeed the one he'd heard about! After all this time! It was all Ranma could do to keep himself from lashing out at her, but the cold truth was this _woman _knew more about what happened at Joketsuzoku than he did. "So they re-hired you, huh? Good for you, but if you ask me their taste in warriors is lacking. What'd they need you for? To kill me?"

"Yes."

"And you're the same guys who put the bounty on me, right?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful. And it's because you think I killed everyone in the village? That I'm the Demon of Joketsuzoku or whatever?"

Lotion hesitated before answering that question. "It does stand to reason that you may not in fact be the one we seek. Therefore we needed to test you; test your power. So far we haven't been impressed. So I shall be the final test. Among all those you have faced thus far you will not hold back your abilities on me."

The Saotome Heir narrowed his eyes. "And why's that?"

"Because I killed your mother."

The pony tailed youth frowned at that. "Yeah…ain't that the truth!"

And with that he pouched on his enemy.

"Tenma died. It was four weeks ago. I couldn't bring myself to write it down at first. He and I got into a fight about avenging mom and he ended up falling off a cliff and I couldn't' pull him up. Maybe I didn't want to. First Mom, now Tenma. He was person, he was my brother. Now he's gone."

-Brief passage from the journal of Ranma Saotome

Ryoga had been oblivious to all of the going on of the Tendo Dojo. Instead he had been lost in the backyard of the house unable to find a door…for hours now! Oh the embarrassment of his curse; to never know where you are or where you're going!

On the bright side at least he didn't turn into a girl.

But even so this was just crazy. Having only just returned to the Dojo he was hesitant in leaving again as it could take him weeks to get back. As silly as it was he'd have to make camp here. Hopefully he'd wake up before Ranma to he could spare his old friend the opportunity to make fun of him.

The bandana clad youngster would have started unpack had he not heard the sounds of a girl screaming in pain. Looking up he saw a leotard wearing girl falling from the roof of the house. Instinctively the lost boy dropped his traveling gear a leapt up to catch her. Doing so with ease the young man returned them both safely to the roof.

"Hey, are you alright?" H asked.

The girl, coming to her senses after the blow to her head, smiled at the kind and handsome stranger. "Yes…now. Thanks to you. What is your name, kind sir?"

Ryoga looked at her puzzled. He wasn't really sure why she was looking at him like that. "Ryoga. Ryoga Hibiki of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

That was all Kodachi needed. Pulling flowers out of nowhere represented them to her savior…which of course shot out a paralyzing powered. Frozen the young fighter was now helpless.

"Sweet Ryoga, please be gentle with me for it is my first time."

"AAAHAHHH!" Is what Ryoga tired to say, but the effects of the powered made it far less clear. Luckily for the boy Kodachi was blindsided by an angry Akane who chose this moment to arrive on the roof. Quickly doing a somewhat slow kick form the Tendo girl the gymnast was forced to back away from her newly discovered beloved.

"Tut tut, it would seem I am interrupted yet again," Kodachi spat.

"Oh don't mind me, I don't care what you and Ryoga do up here...above my room…with no shame," was Akane's response.

The gymnast smirked wickedly. "You're words speak differently from your actions. No matter. Dear Ryoga, we shall meet again! OHOHOHOHO!"

With Kodachi gone Ryoga though he was safe, but Akane stomping on his face made him realize he was wrong.

"Have you no shame!" She demanded. "Right over my own roof!"

"Wasn't…my…fault," Ryoga tried to say, though he was still positioned.

Neither of them noticed Nabiki sneaking out of the grounds towards where Ranma was fighting.

Lotion found herself again being knocked backwards. Ranma had proved to be more than a match for her afterall. However she could tell that the boy was exerting himself in order rot avoid her blows. Why? If he was powerful enough to defeat the entire amaozn nation surely she should be dead already.

Ranma looked over at his foe. He wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to do here. He clearly had the upper hand, and despite what Lotion claimed he had in fact been holding back. His personal code of honor prevented him from killing a weaker opponent, afterall. But then again that same code dictated that he defeat this girl "You give up yet, ya murdering bitch?"

Lotion stood her ground. "It is somewhat amusing to hear a demon say such a thing."

"I ain't a demon. I've never been to your village. Hell, your buddy Shampoo was a friend mine," Ranma responded.

Lotion nodded. "Indeed, I'm starting to agree with you. But I can't give up-" Her thoughts remained unfinished as a bright light blinded both martial artists. When Ranma's vision returned the girl was gone.

"Damn," he cursed. He had been cheated out of avenging his mother as well as learning more about what happened at Joketsuzoku. One thing was starting to become clear. A demon came to that village, slaughtered most everyone there, and happened to look just like him.

Tenma. It had to be. He wanted all the amazons to pay for their mother's death, afterall. If he managed to survive the fall then he had somehow gained the power to do just that. If that was the case than that may mean that somewhere in China, or rather somewhere in the world, was a super powered killer with his face. This of course was all speculation as he had no real proof, but it made the most sense.

By now a familiar voice calling out from below interrupted his "Ranma!" It was Nabiki and from where Ranma was standing she didn't look like a girl who spent a great deal of time masking her emotions. She was worried, even Ryoga would have been able to tell that.

"Yo," Ranma called back down. He leapt from the roof he was standing and landed gracefully in front of her. It was rather impressive. "What's up?"

Nabiki was confused and a little angry at her sister's fiancé. "What was going on? I saw you fighting someone over here? Are you crazy? You only just healed up from your last fight!"

Ranma was pleasantly surprised by Nabiki's reaction. It would seem that she wasn't nearly as indifferent towards him as she wanted him to believe. Even so he couldn't just tell her the truth; that his "evil" clone killed an entire village of people in retaliation for one of those people, the woman he was fighting, poisoning his mother which also led directly to a bounty on his head.

"Looks like that crazy Kodachi chick that Akane's suppose to fight next week wanted some extra insurance or something," Ranma lied. "Guess she brought in some backup."

Ranma had more lies to tell, in case Nabiki was too smart for that one, but he didn't get the opportunity. The middle Tendo girl pulled the boy close and kissed him good and long. Even the Saotome Heir, well adjusted as he was, was taken aback by this. When she broke off the kiss the perhaps inappropriately named "Ice Queen" looked just as shocked by her actions as Ranma.

"I…I don't know why I did that," she admitted. "I guess I' was just glad you weren't hurt."

Ranma nodded. "Well…we probably shouldn't' do that again. Seeing as I'm engaged to your sister. Family honor and all that."

"Oh yeah, totally," Nabiki said, vigorously nodded in agreement. "Family honor is really important."

There was a pause. The two teenagers kissed again, with more passion on both sides than before. Despite this there was trouble in the back of Ranma's mind: Tenma, the amazons, his mother….these issues needed to be addressed and soon.

For the moment Ranma would try to forget these trouble.

From a distance not too far away Lotion angrily looked on at her savior. "I do not appreciate being interrupted, Cologne!"

The aged matriarch looked over the young subordinate with disdain. "Child it was your lack of respect that resulted in your expulsion to begin with. And yet you continue to do so with that mouth of yours. From where I stood were in danger."

"I apologize elder," Lotion said. "But regardless I believe that Ranma Saotome isn't the one we're looking for."

The short wrinkled old woman sighed. "It is true that I sensed no demonic chi from the boy, and the fact that he didn't brutally murder you outright does speak volumes to his character. However we must remember that your fight was within close proximity to that family he's been living with."

Lotion nodded. "Yes, I understand. If he's infiltrated them than he may have been trying to protect his cover should they see anything. You're right of course."

Cologne frowned even more so at her charge. "You were foolish to face him alone, even if you were just testing him. We will not make that mistake again. Take me to the others; we shall give this boy one final challenge to prove his identity once and for all. Even if he's not the demon we sought he may have other uses…"

To be continued…

Next Time: Ranma versus the amazons; Akane versus Kodachi. Plus Kuno returns!

**Authors Note:**  
Sure it only took, what, four years? But hey better late than never, right? This chapter was going to be much shorter but at the last second I decided to add a few more pages. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed it because I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out. The problem with writing a new chapter to a story that you haven't worked on in a long time is that you tend to forget where you were going with it. As a result some of the aspects of this chapter may seem a bit out of left field, but I think it'll work out eventually. Just like with "Ranma and the Monkey King" I plan to do a massive re-write to the previous chapters when I get the chance. I suspect this story needs it more anyway.


End file.
